Dusk and Dawn
by Riddle1512
Summary: A love story that was never meant to be, yet defied all rules and stood strong like a ray of sunlight through dark clouds. Gale and Madge's story continued from Night and Day.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** **: The characters in the story belong to Susan Collins. If they belonged to me, Hunger Games would have had a different ending. :)**

 **Fan-moment** **: I'm your die-hard fan, Canidae. (if you're reading this.) Because my favourite fan-fic author left the story unfinished, I lost my sleep. The story upto this point belongs to Canidae.( s/7301214/1/Night-and-Day), and this is my fan-fiction of Night and Day.**

 **Chapter 1**

Now that Katniss is permanently excused from attending school, she often spends a few hours at our place every couple of days. Since I don't get to see Gale until Saturday evening, or occasionally on a Sunday, I welcome her presence. At least, it keeps me from spending every second of my idle-time worrying about Gale while he pounds away at the suffocating walls deep in the mines.

Even after so many weeks of having Katniss around, I still feel a little awkward, and fumble around for topics that will not somehow manage to upset her. I can see that she's trying- _really trying hard-_ to open up, and I decide not to push her by mentioning Peeta or anything to do with the Games. I actively skirt around mentioning Gale's name- she doesn't have to know how we had come _so close_ to toeing the line just a few nights back. Just the mere thought is enough to send me back to the moment, how his gray eyes smoldered in the soft light of the sunrise, how those muscles rippled on his back as he pulled on his jacket. A deliciously wicked memory of Gale teasing the strap of my night-dress off my shoulders sends a slight shiver through me. I can almost feel his lips at my neck. Even in a half-asleep and half-intoxicated state, my brain did not fail to register how it felt to have him really touch me (As if I would need liquor when Gale's mere presence serves the same purpose.), and that too _not quite._ He had frozen all of a sudden, said he didn't want to have to rush. But that only left me _wanting_ more.

Katniss notices my sudden lapse in attention, and asks me if I was feeling alright. I brush it off with a slight cough. I hope my red hot ears don't give me away. I ball my hands into fists to keep it from trembling slightly, and try to listen to her as she speaks fondly about how she finally has the joy of seeing the hungry kids running around with the food from the Parcel Day.

I want to ask her a lot of details about the Games- I have perfect reason to; every scrap of information that I can gather will be crucial for the cause my father, mother, and now I have decided to fight for- I refrain from doing so. Let her figure out a way out of all the mess she's landed herself in. Which again brings me back to Gale. Though I have already given him my opinion about the strike he's been planning in the mines, I don't know whether he will choose to listen to me. He can be extremely driven-to the point of stupidity even, if his belief in the cause is staunch enough, and I find myself praying to the universe that he does choose to listen. Not because I feel that I'm right, but because I have a broader idea of everything that is happening, and one tiny mis-step will tip the odds dangerously against our favour.

Katniss shows me the sketches of the outfits she's supposed to wear on her Victory Tour, and asks me what I think about each one of them. At last, some girl-talk which I never thought she would indulge in. That's when I hear my father's footsteps down the hall. He knocks on my door before sticking his head in.

"Magpie, I need you to-", he breaks of mid-sentence as he realizes that I'm not alone. I colour slightly when he uses my nickname in front of Katniss.

"Hello, Mayor Undersee." Katniss greets him politely, tactfully choosing to ignore my embarrassment.

"Hello Katniss. Give my greetings to Peeta." My father looks a little haggard and wary, and I get the feel that something is not right. He doesn't say anything else, but simply nods at me before leaving, silently telling me to come see him when I'm free.

Katniss and I speak for some more time before she mentions that she has to go collect Prim from school. She thanks me for the lemonade and a friendly chat and leaves after inviting me to her new house whenever I feel like.

* * *

 _Hell's teeth_ , she has taken me completely apart, piece by piece, figured me out better than I have ever figured out myself. This impossibly warm and kind girl, that I had written off as a wishful thinking a mere few months ago, now has given me a new hope. _Again_. Hope to stay strong, to never give up _\- hell's bell_ , _to even fight back_.

What Madge had said the other day on the porch-steps hasn't left me for a second. I keep repeating her words in my head. _You walk a fine line...I'm glad you're here, and I want you to keep coming back._ Her idea of getting the whole mine to strike against the Capitol makes more sense, as opposed to the few teams that I was originally planning to get on board- now that I am thinking things more carefully. What she said makes perfect sense, how a few teams will be dispensable and easily replaceable. The Capitol has made it abundantly clear before just how disposable we miners are, what with so many hungry people out here waiting in line for a job whenever that's available.

Just thinking about her gives me the will to fight the dark shadows that forever lives here, deep down in the earth, threatening to take us all into its folds. I think of her words as I pound into the seam with my pickaxe.

 _You think you're invincible, Gale._ That she thinks I'm strong enough makes me feel invincible.

 _Thump. Thump. Thump._ I keep hacking at a coal seam with my pickaxe.

 _If possible, just try to get the other workers to network._ Now that's the challenge in Twelve. It's all or none scenario for us. Unlike the other bigger districts, where even if only half the population causes a strike, it stands valid because of _sheer numbers._ It's all down to the math. The more we are, the lesser odds we face.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I hear a few workers having a whispered talk, the noise making a perfect cover for holding discussions.

"Hawthorne, how can you be so sure that the other teams will want to join in?" asks one of my crew-mates.

I instantly bristle at his question. _However not?_ I want to shoot at him. "Would you rather there're no changes in the conditions we work in? If not about the wages, then how about _safety_?", I speak through gritted teeth, my hands forming fists. I want to punch something real bad. No wonder District Twelve is a laid-back, backward district, because we're all a bunch of cowards. People get blown up, their children get medals of Honour, and that's it. Everyone happy to get back to work, and then get blown up in the next mine explosion. That's how the cycle goes. A fucking pathetic way to live.

"OK,OK! I'm jus' askin'. No need to get all worked up."

"Maybe you should go talk to the team-leaders if you want to appear less suspicious. It wouldn't do us a favour being caught fraternizing with a different team every day.", I say in a flat voice, glaring at them. They seem to shrink a little. Hell, these people don't even know how to avoid trouble. As if the Capitol doesn't know exactly what you're playing at if suddenly one day you went over to another team altogether to have a friendly chat. _Welcome to reality, these are the mines, and we're the walking dead_. People hardly exchange greetings down here, let alone seek one another out for a chat.

Thom shakes his head sadly,"What if they don't agree? You know how most of them are like, mate. Hungry mouths to feed at home, and what if the risk doesn't pay off."

"Then _make them understand_!", I snarl at him. "It's for everyone's benefit. I mean-look at us!"

Asher and Leon, the other team-mates just stare blankly at me _. Hell's bell_ , this is going to take some real pep-talk. I swear and get back to chipping away at the seam with an insane burst of energy. She says she admires the fight in me. I'll give her the fight to admire.

* * *

"This doesn't sound good, you know.", my mother speaks up quietly from her corner after listening to what my father had to say.

"I agree. Till yesterday, no one mentioned anything regarding the President's arrival here in Twelve." My father looks at us gravely. "You know they are nothing but thorough. The Officials' visits are planned weeks ahead, and here we are talking about the President."

This makes no sense to me, since all the Capitol-sponsored events are over already after Katniss and Peeta's return.

"Dad, did they mention why?" I am just as confused as he is. There are other things to worry about- an uprising in Eight, for example- surely Snow isn't coming here on a vacation?

The news about Snow's arrival here in district Twelve in two days time makes me sick with worry. _Gale_.

I haven't seen him in some time, and a determined Gale in a span of mere days is a dangerous idea. What if Snow has somehow gotten wind of what he's been trying to achieve in the mines? Is that why he's rushing up here without notice?

"Magpie, these are the Capitol lands," my father says with a sad chuckle. "The President doesn't need to give an excuse to go somewhere. He may as well walk into our house right at this moment without an invitation."

"Does Haymitch know?"

"No, I came home as soon as I got the message from our sources in the Capitol. I have to prepare for his welcome. Which brings me to you. You have to go tip him off. Can you do that for me, dear?"

"Of course, Dad." I walk over to him and give him a quick hug before slipping on my shoes and jacket.

"Be careful, Magpie. And try not to be late.", says my mother.

"Am I not always, Mother? Don't worry about me. You go up to rest, Ok? If I'm late, please don't stay up."

The Victors' Village is quite a distance from my house, though not as far as the Seam, but the walk is tiring. _Because it's not_ his _house you're going to_. Heh. I can't think like that.

All the houses in the Village, save three, are uninhabited, and have a creepy haunted feel to them. I try not to look at them as I make my way towards Haymitch's house. I ring the doorbell, but of course, he doesn't answer. Drunk, perhaps? I try again, keep ringing it incessantly until I hear him hollering down the stairway, crashing into the furniture. After a long while, he finally realises someone's at the door and opens it.

"Oh, it's the _Princess_!", he gives me a drunken salute and a sloppy grin before holding the door open wider.

"It isn't a courtesy call, I assume?"

" , my father thinks it's an emergency, and so do I." As I mention my father, he sobers up a little, and his eyes focus on me. It's almost comic.

"What now?" he growls.

"Well, there will be a Snow-storm." I give him a cryptic reply. One can never trust the houses here in the Village. As comfortable and state-of-the-art they might be, there is also a chance they might be bugged.

Haymitch looks at me intently for a minute, trying to decide whether I'm being serious or not, and then finally says, " When?"

"Not sure. Couple of days, tops."

"Is this from the usual source?" _Meaning: Has the news come from the Official Channel?_

"No. Just thought you might want to know. Nobody's supposed to know, though.", I will him to understand that he shouldn't tell this to either Katniss or Peeta. When he nods and thanks me for the ' _weather'_ tip-off, I walk out of his house, plan on walking around the town a little before going back home.

I wander around aimlessly for a while, not really watching my steps, and I feel a sudden tug at my ankle. _Ouch!_

If not for a pair of hands, I would have fallen flat on my face. I look around to thank my savior and find myself looking into Rory's face.

"Thanks, Rory."I smile at him gratefully.

"No problem, Madge. But you need to be careful. We can't have you drown in the gutters.", he says with a half-smile that reminds me so much of Gale. He's already grown a foot taller than me. I look towards where he's pointing and see that I had just tripped on the open latch of the drain-cover. _Ugh_.

"Well, that would be pretty interesting news here, won't it? 'The Mayor's daughter finally gets what she deserved'?" I laugh, rolling my eyes.

Rory joins in, "Well, that'd be a tragedy, Madge" he says with a theatrical mock-horror on his face.

"And why would that be, Rory?" I mimic his expression.

He thinks around hard for a while before he answers with a straight face. "Let's see...how about, I can't ever look Gale in the eye if I let you drown in the dirty gutter water?"

Oh bother. Is it so obvious, that even a twelve-year old boy has noticed? I can feel the blood creeping up my face, and I change tack at top speed. Though I'm tempted to mention Prim and give him a taste of his own medicine, I decide to not bother him. Poor kid has it enough from his brothers as it is.

"What are you doing in town?"

"Oh, the usual. Running rounds for Mum to see if anyone has any laundry. Now I've taken over the job from Gale.", he says before adding in a quieter voice, "The only thing he'll let me do. Still won't take me with him to hunt. Still won't let me take out tesserae, even though we need it."

It smacks me hard in the face that an innocent twelve-year old has to worry about contributing to the family's provision, or be hurt over the fact that his protective older brother has taken most of the danger squarely upon his own shoulders, refusing to let him share it, or that he has to even feel responsible by endangering his life to help provide for his family. It hurts even more because it has hit closer to home. Anyone from Gale's family is closer to home. The unfairness of it all makes my resolve stronger.

It's then that I finally decide. I will do _whatever_ it takes to make this Cause work.


	2. Chapter 2

**Canidae, please come back soon! I dedicate this chapter to your return.**

 **CHAPTER -2**

Seconds turn into minutes, minutes to hours and hours to days. The mines are ominous as ever. The recent accident has left everyone shaken and angry, but a very few are ready to listen to us. The section of the tunnel that had caved in has been sealed off as unsafe, but where's the guarantee that some other tunnel won't cave in and bury us all alive?

As it is, I have always dreaded working down here. But after the last accident, it feels like these walls are waiting to collapse and take us with it. Needless to say, after every stroke of my pickaxe and hammer, I strain my ears, waiting for a tremor here, a rumble there. Thom says I was as quick as I needed to be, but when there's an accident, nobody can be quick enough. People die down here all the time. Our father did. So did many others. Katniss' father. _Katniss,_ I'm not sure I even want to go there. I crumple up the thought and throw it at the back of my mind.

I'm doing this for Rory, so he won't have to take out tesserae. For Vick, so he can have a new pair of shoes. For Posy, so she doesn't have to go to sleep on an empty stomach.

For _Madge._ Because she loves the fight in me.

She fights the darkness the hardest. And I haven't seen her in a while. Last Sunday when I had gone to drop off her strawberries, she looked radiant as ever _. Sunshine, ocean and warmth_. Then she had surprised me completely by giving me ideas. She didn't tell me to stop; said that wouldn't be me. Instead she told me exactly how to go on about it. It never fails to amaze me that she has taken me apart, figured me out, knows what makes me work and put the pieces back together again. Without even letting me get a wind of it.

Like sunshine, she has been all around me. Like rain she has me falling-harder each day.

I count the hours till I can see her again, and with each count, I let my pickaxe tear into the seam.

* * *

Dad has been at work almost all day for the last two days, coming home very late at night. The worry's starting to show, with his eyes having light purple bruises around them. He looks extremely tired, and a little terrified even. Heaven knows what brings Snow here. I can only hope it's not some really nasty business. From what my father says, Snow's visits have always been followed by some unfortunate event or the other.

As for my mother, she's sick again. Her frail health does not allow her to worry so much, and as expected, she's up in bed with awful headaches.

Even when I'm at school, I don't really pay attention to what the teacher is talking about in class. Another safe method of mining bituminous coal without hacking ourselves to death. As if all these useless trash really help miners down there. As if by listening to her bogus lectures, Gale didn't have that hunted and terrified look in his eyes the night of the accident. I scoff at her mentally, imagine strangling her with my bare hands.

 _Whoa_ , Madge! Officially a rebel, and now violent too!

I try to control this sudden rage that bubbles inside me, and focus on the new melody I've been trying hard to perfect. How did people from before the Dark Age manage to play such difficult pieces? Either their fingers had no bones or they had too many fingers. Yes, that might explain the inhuman speed of this piece.

I keep tapping my foot impatiently, and glance at my watch every few seconds, waiting for school to end. As soon as I hear the bell ring, I gather my things and run out at top speed, where I run into Vick this time.

"Hello, Madge! Long time no see. Posy keeps asking about you."

"Things are pretty rough now at home. I'll see you around, OK?", I nearly run out on him, leaving him looking a little surprised. Vick never thought I'd be the avoiding type, but it's not him I'm avoiding, it's the danger that is about to step onto the district soil.

As I pass the Justice Building, I see the District Square milling with Peacekeepers. I see a few friendly faces, Darius and Purnia among them, looking tired but tensed. Even Peacekeepers are frightened of _that snake_ that has the power to poison us all at one small whim. I nod at them before moving on, I don't need to be a part of this spectacle here.

I meant to pay my father a visit at the Justice Building, but now it seems that I'm too late, so I head home. I might just help out Rose with her laundry today, if I am to remain in her good books. When I enter the house, I'm surprised to find my father in our living room, shooting rapid-fire instructions at Rose and Mr. Aaron.

"Rose, will you please let know that I will not return home tonight? And Mr. Aaron, if somebody comes looking for me _here_ , tell them to come back later. Am I clear? And please don't let Madge into the Justice Building today-oh, there you are!"

"Dad? Aren't you supposed to be at work at this hour?" Hasn't Snow come yet?

"I am, I made a quick getaway to warn you .The President is here already, and I won't be home. So you should be wise enough to not attempt to contact me while I'm away. Alright?"

"Then how come you left him at the Justice Building?", I shoot back at him in confusion.

"He's headed out towards the Village.", he speaks rapidly, as if afraid slowing down will make him sick. " I don't think he's up to any good. But _you_ don't end up going there now, OK, Magpie?"

 _What!?_ Snow at the Victor's Village? Did he come here to pay our esteemed Victors a courtesy call? That too without prior notice and all the pomp and show that arrives before he does? This is not good- not good at all.

My father nods, he understands my concern. "I'll let you know when it's all over." He heads back out and disappears into his Officials' car.

* * *

I come back up after taking another stomach-churning elevator ride. Another day; and I'm still lucky to be alive. Dog-tired, covered in a solid inch of soot, coughing my lungs out, but still alive. After making a half-hearted attempt at cleaning myself at the old latrine, I slowly make my way home. I try to form a speech that I'm about to give Rory for wanting to be ready to bite the bullet. That he thinks he's ready to go to the other side of the fence and hunt after catching a rabbit by sheer dumb luck makes me all the more worked up. I tried my damndest best to keep him from doing it, but the odds haven't exactly been in my favour lately.

A few Seam girls I had known back in school pass by and throw me sultry glances; one even boldly catches my eye and gives a cheeky smile. What's her name again? Lindy?... Lily?... Leah?... Lina? Oh _, whatever_. It's supposed to be seductive- and not so long ago I would've returned a wicked smirk her way or even stopped to flirt, maybe even give a few world-class ass-hat cheeks guaranteed to earn me a resounding slap from my mother- but it just makes me scowl at her. _Huh_ , I still haven't lost my edge it seems; even when covered in soot and straggling along. I think back to when I obliged them by taking a trip to the slag heap. _Happy days_. What a world-class jerk I was. _Still am_ , I laugh at the thought.

But all I can really think is how happy and relieved I was to find Madge on our sofa that terrible evening, how she lit up our living room. I miss her on the days I can't make a trip to the town- I'm so tired nowadays. I drag myself home in a half-dazed state and hear Rory and Vick's playful shouts coming down the street.

This is how Rory should be. This is how I should have been at his age. He shouldn't have to grow up too fast like I had to; shouldn't have to worry about where the next meal will come from, or how he must help. This makes me sick-the desperation we have to face to make children sign up for tesserae, to brave a trip outside the fence. Really _. If only those cowards choose to act, and quick._

"Gaaaaaaale!", Posy runs and jumps at me as soon as she hears the latch on the gate open, and just like that, teases a laugh out of me. I catch her mid-jump and carry her into the house. At least Posy is simply elated to see me home, and starts her mile-a-minute recital of how she learnt a new song at school, and a new lesson.

"Did you know, Gale? We burn coal to make fire?", she bosses me to sit quietly and listen as she teaches me how coal is used to make fire. My mother smiles at her antics, and goes back into the kitchen.

"Mum! Guess what Rory did, he asked Prim-" _thwack_.

Vick has come tearing into the room and before he gets the sentence out, he gets a whack on his head from Rory. Rory sidles into the room, his face red, looking anywhere but at me.

"What have you done now, Rory? Prim not taking you seriously, eh?" I joke, ruffling his hair. He jerks his head away from me, and stomps away into the bathroom, shooting daggers at Vick all the while.

I laugh at my brother's attitude. _Why does that feel so familiar_?

I finally crack up when little Posy puts her hands on her hip, and tells Vick off sternly for bothering Rory.

"Enough now, Pose" I laugh, "At this rate, you'll put Ma out of work."

Just then a slight knock at the door gets my attention, and I disentangle myself from posy to get the door. At this time, it can either be the Peacekeepers- but they don't knock, they hammer down the door- or Katniss, and I'm pretty sure she has other important things to do; like choose her wedding dress _. Sick_.

Wondering who on Earth it can be so late in the evening, I open the door slightly, and I see her.

Looking as beautiful and out-of-place as ever.

"What are you doing here at this hour, Madge?" She looks a little worried, a small frown creasing her brows, but just as lovely as ever.

"I had to come see you." She says so quietly that I have to lean forward to catch her words. I hold the door open wider and pull her inside.

"Come on in, you don't need to catch a cold standing out there in this weather."

Vick drags over a chair by the fireplace and Magde smiles gratefully at him before sinking into it.

"Miss Madge!" Posy jumps into her lap at once and starts reciting her lesson again at once. But Madge looks a little distracted, enough that even Posy notices and trails off after a few minutes.

"Posy, use your manners. Miss Madge just came and you started bothering her already!" My mother chides her gently as she sets the table for dinner.

"No, it's no problem, Mrs. Hawthorne. I came to see Posy." She smiles at Posy as she says this, and my sister starts her chatter again.

"Then will you have dinner with us?" Posy shoots at her gleefully.

Madge catches my eye, and I nod at her. "Thank you, I'd like that."

* * *

I don't know what came over me that I decided to get out of the house at this hour. May be it's because I'm feeling restless since Dad hasn't said anything; or maybe it's because I'm so worried about Gale that I'm past caring about manners and etiquettes and decide to finally make my way down to the Seam after sundown. It's a week-night on top of that.

Once I see Gale, I can feel the worry leave me at once. It's like I was holding my breath for too long, and now I can breathe again. He does look a little confused at my arrival, but doesn't ask too many questions in front of his family. We can both talk later.

I don't talk much during dinner, just politely answer when Rory lobs a joke at me, or Posy shoots a question at me. After I help Gale with the dishes, we sit around, and I let Posy and Vick engage me in a round of "bother Rory"-much to Gale's amusement and Rory's chagrin.

"Let's get you home, it's getting late." Gale softly says before pulling me up to my feet.

I thank Hazelle for the lovely meal, and promise to come around more often than I've been doing since the Games ended.

As we round the corner and step on to the road that leads to Town, I stop walking and turn to look at Gale. He looks at me expectantly, wanting to know what made me come here.

"The President's here." I cut directly to the chase. Even if we are alone at this hour on a lonely stretch of road, there's no surety of who might be listening. Gale looks around him, making sure we're alone.

"Why." He whispers.

"I only know that he's at the Village, it's a secret visit. People aren't supposed to know he's here." I look intently at him. "So stop whatever you are doing, Gale. At least for now. It's lucky my father got to know this before Snow's arrival."

He says nothing for some time, but resumes walking. I follow. I don't even know what to say to him now. It's terrifying already that I get to see Gale once in a while, and he's deep down inside the earth.

"They'll be leaving for the Victory Tour tomorrow. Will you go to see her off?" I ask, feeling a little anxious. I don't want Gale anywhere near the cameras now.

"I'm not on the list." He says simply, without any inflection. For some reason, his apathy rubs me the wrong way. Sure, he likes me now, but then Katniss still holds the power to hurt him- just like he's hurting now. I take his hand in mine and he wraps his fingers around mine- we walk like that the rest of the way to town.

When we reach the back porch of my house, I turn to say goodnight, but my voice catches, and I choke out the word, as I move away to open the back-door. The entire week's worth of exhaustion and the stress of constantly worrying about Gale comes down on me like a wall, and I don't want him to see me cry.

Gale pulls me back gently and turns me around, a hundred emotions flickering on his face.

He cups my face gently in his hands, his long fingers tangling in my hair; and I lean into them, forcing myself not to cry.

"Madge," he whispers softly, bringing his forehead to touch mine, "It helps a lot when I see you." And then his lips capture mine and he kisses me gently-a kiss so heart-wrenchingly sweet that I want to cry. I realise that I'm really crying when Gales wipes off my tears with his thumb.

Gale ruins everything. Though he hasn't ever said it in words, this is how it must feel to have him love me. It's just like they say _, when somebody loves you back, the idea of losing him is a thousand times more painful._

"Don't, Madge. I'm afraid too. More for my family than for myself. I'm being careful, just like you said."

The tears well up with a vengeance and fall freely down my face. I hide my face on his chest and try to stop my sobs as they threaten to wrench out of my throat. I hold him tightly to me and before I can stop myself from making him weak too, I whisper out the words, more for my benefit than his. "I love you, Gale."

 **Note: The tune Madge is trying so hard to master has a name. Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu in C# minor. It's fast as crazy for someone like Madge who, i assume is self-taught, and needs real practice to be attempted at its intended tempo**.

 **p.s: please leave a word or two if you liked reading. thanks.:)**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER -3  
**

 _I love you, Gale... I love you, Gale...I love you, Gale_.

Did she really say that? Or did my over-worked head make that one up on it's own?

I'm not even sure whether I'm really living this moment, or I'm trapped in a dream- a very beautiful dream-that I might wake from up any moment.

But I feel her small hands around my neck, her hair tickling my chin, and I know it isn't a dream. _Are you_ _even_ _real_?- I want to ask her. A simple admission from her is enough to make my insides rumble like an earthquake. All my silent rage at the situation in the mines which was burning within me a few moments ago dissolves completely. True, I've been real close to her-as close as I can get, I know she even likes me-but I never thought she'd fall for me, the way I've been falling for her. Can I say the words to her aloud?

But she has beaten me there too. Just like always.

I open my mouth several times, struggling between whether I should admit my true feelings for her right now or at least say something in reply, but then each time I try, nothing comes up. So I quit getting worked up over this-I'll do this at my own pace when I'm coherent and not stupefied, and I don't want to sound forced when I do it. I hold her tighter to me as she sighs my name, and just like that-she has me tangled in her snare.

As stunned as I might be, I get the feeling I usually associate with the woods. _Thrill._

"Please remember what I said earlier, Gale." She speaks against my chest _. Of course_ , I will. I'll have to be dead to forget she told me she loves me, maybe not even then. Wait...what was it that she told me earlier?

"I'll see you on Sunday, Ok?" I whisper in her ear, the end of my nose brushing her cheeks. She gives a small watery smile and turns around to leave. I tug her back.

"And Madge?" I smirk at her, an idea playing in my head. She looks at me quizzically. "Don't be too clean, ok? I don't want anyone to ask you embarrassing questions."

She swats playfully at my arm before I pull her in for a deep kiss, and she makes a small sound which sounds just as melodious as her laugher. This is the girl I have fallen for, the girl made of sunshine and fire and water. I break the kiss when I find it really hard to get away, and I know I really must. She gives me a glowing smile before opening the door and disappears inside the house.

For a few minutes, I don't move. I stand stupidly at the Undersees' porch, in a dazed state. In all the six years of having girls proclaim their undying love for me, and swooning in my arms, woozy and unable to move, I never thought that I'd live to see the day when I'd be the one to stand stupidly, incoherent, and immobile. It was _always_ I who called the shots. She has given me the strength, and yet, she's the one who has me completely _, utterly hopelessly_ ensnared in her ocean-blue eyes and sunshine hair. And she didn't even try; neither did I.

I have no idea how I make my way back to the Seam without losing my way, or landing up in the stocks for being out so late. I'm sure I must have been walking like a drunk person- staggering really. Thankfully, the kids are all up in bed, so I don't have to deal with their observations. Not so lucky with Mum, though. She's waiting up, and I get the feeling that she might be particularly difficult tonight.

"It's awfully nice of Madge to drop in on a week-night." Mum speaks up without any preamble. Right. As difficult as she can get.

"She came to tell me about something she's been looking up at her father's office." I hedge, not wanting to tell her the complete truth. She doesn't need to know anything that might add to her already growing list of worries.

"Which is?" she prompts. My mother can be difficult. But then she's a Hawthorne too.

"It's nothing, Mum. You shouldn't think about it too much." I give her a quick hug and mean to dash into my room, but she stops me with one of her imploring but stern stares.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Gale. You're clever enough to know where's trouble and where isn't. And you know how to stay out of it. Just don't go looking for it. We can't afford that."

"I have a comfortable relationship with trouble." I answer with a smug grin, deliberately being a smart-ass to make my mother worry less. It works, she lets out a small chuckle and goes into the room she shares with Posy and Vick.

I go to bed, and push Rory on to one side. He has taken up the entire bed, sprawled all over, his mouth hanging open. He's so deeply asleep that he doesn't stir even when the push becomes a shove. I wonder whether I'll be able to have a sound sleep tonight.

As I lie down, my thoughts turn to Madge. I wonder how I'll tell her that _Yes! I love you too_. Maybe take her to the meadow again and hold her to me while I admit my feelings for her under the ever-watchful stars; or take her to the woods where she feels so alive, just like I do. Maybe take her to the river again. I decide that this Sunday, I _will_ tell her everything, and I'll make it perfect. Tell her how she makes me feel like rain- fall harder and faster each day, each moment that I have with her. She deserves to know everything.

With my head full of Madge, and her three simple but powerful words, I drift off to a very fitful sleep.

* * *

"Margaret, I hear you are friends with Katniss? asks Effie Trinkett. (She drags around my name as _Maaaar-ga-ret_ in that awful cadence.)

The band of Capitol baboons are back again- this time to escort Katniss and Peeta on their Victory Tour to the various districts before a grand welcome in the Capitol.

"We sat at lunch together in school, yes." I don't really want to tell these Capitol _nutcases_ the exact depth of our friendship. Effie Trinkett or any of the other members of her team have no use for the piece of information other than pure, unadulterated gossip.

"Ah, yes. Katniss said so too. Well, Margaret, it will be so kind of you if you could teach some manners to Katniss. Heaven knows how hard I have worked on her.", she says in her weird Capitol accent-rolling her eyes. The others laugh at what they think is a _really_ witty remark, and I have a sudden urge to tell Effie exactly what I think she can to do with her own manners. _Shove it up her...well. Never mind._

"Thank you, Ms. Trinkett. But I think Katniss has her own charm. A little rough around the edges, but charming no doubt." I answer amiably, in a too sugary-sweet voice, but she can't tell. "It defines who she is."

Octavia and Venia, the two beauticians, titter all around me, tugging at my hair and poking at my face and hands. I think of them as a pair of glittery insects.

"Such beautiful hair!"

"So naturally flawless skin!"

"Oh, how I wish you were a Tribute, Margaret.", sighs Effie, "The Capitol would've loved you. I hear you can play the pianoforte! _(pianofor-taaaay!)_ How lovely! We'd love to hear you play for us."

There. _Ugh_. I didn't toil away at the piano for so many years, just to end up performing for a bunch of _freaks_!

I mentally fume at them, but graciously agree to her request. I hate living in my own house when the Capitol people visit. Our house doubles up as their lodge, and I become their glorified maid-cum-hostess.

Out of all the glittery aliens that have graced us all with their presence, I like Cinna the most. He's Katniss's stylist, a fellow undercover rebel, and a great person underneath. He smiles at me warmly and urges me to play something.

I am good at playing, but I don't really feel comfortable playing for someone. Well, Gale is a complete exception, and occasionally Katniss too. I sift through my collection of music before I decide to hell with them. I play a waltz and another slow compsition from memory before flowing effortlessly into a faster piece; the one I was sweating over for the past few weeks, followed by another energetic tune. This melody reminds me so much of little Posy, who can hardly stay at one place for more than five minutes; I smile fondly when I think of her, forgetting for a moment that I have an audience.

"Bravo! _(Braaaavoh!)_ What a splendid rendition!" they all break into an applause when I enter the ending movement of another energetic piece, and I'm obliged to take a bow.

"Dear, dear. Now I'm _so sure_ that you should be a Tribute. You're so _talented_! You are exactly what District Twelve needs in the Quarter Quell." gushes Effie.

It takes me some amount of restraint to not say something harsh or make a face at her. She didn't say 'You should join the Conservatoire at the Capitol.', or 'I'll speak with the musicians, they can take you under their wings.' No. Just a cold 'you should be a Tribute.'. I'll just end up dead even before they get a chance to exhibit my skills with the piano.

I'm saved from any further agitation when Effie declares that they need to really crack on if they want to catch the train on time. "We have a schedule to keep to, you know." she adds theatrically.

"Margaret, what a pleasure it has been to finally make your acquaintance. I'll be pleased to see you in the Capitol." she trills off in that funny accent of hers, thinking she's being generous with her appreciation.

"The pleasure has been all mine, Ms. Trinkett." I reply smoothly with a false, sweet smile plastered over my face.

"Oh, please call me Effie, dear."

"Effie. It's been wonderful to have you here."

"Such manners! District Twelve isn't half bad as I thought earlier!", she says, getting a little emotional. "I'm getting to know so much!"

She thanks me for having them, and then ushers the team out the door, firing instructions to each member, and emphasizing after every sentence just how "important it is to keep to the schedule."

I roll my eyes as I shut the door. _Freaks_.

* * *

I thank my stars instead of cursing them that I'm stuck far below the earth right at this moment, when they're herding Katniss and her _fiancé_ onto the train bound for the Victory Tour. So what if the list didn't include my name half the times, the reporters didn't seem to _take_ the hint that I wanted to stay as far as I'd be legally allowed from their grime-covered, slime-ball cameras. My interviews haven't exactly been on a polite note, what with my barely controlled disgust breaking through my mask of indifference on more occasions than I would like to care. Had I been above-ground this very moment, I would've found them dogging my steps, just like they do to Prim and Madge.

Prim, poor girl. And Madge- she has to _live_ with those jokers from the Capitol. I don't even _want_ to go anywhere near Katniss- she's one of them now, but as her pretend cousins, my family can't really ignore her. _How peachy. Katniss wins the Games, so go bug her cousin. Who is as much a cousin as he loves the Capitol_. Not happening until seven days after hell freezes over. I take that back- _Not. Even_. _Then._

Since today the Victors are officially about to start their Victory Tour, the mine officials in the higher ranks have all been invited at the Justice Building for lunch. Perfect cover for us to really get on with our work. No one to report our friendly chats.

Over the din of a thousand pickaxes falling on the walls at once, the various team-leaders converge and chalk out a rudimentary plan. A good way to start at least. Once the plan forms, we can take over from there and improvise.

"Snow will not agree to this, you know." says Ian, he's one of the veteran team-leaders.

"I don't think personal safety is too much to ask for." I retort, "We work like slaves with a meager pay-cheque to go for it, endanger our lives on a daily-basis, is that too much to ask for?"

"Canaries can't be the only way to detect bad air, you know. There has to be a better way. How come a mine official has never been blown to bits before, even when they come here all the time for inspections?" I plough on. "They have proper equipment to detect the rise in carbon levels. I think they can spare us a few.

They agree to my arguments and nod their assent.

"More than that, those equipment will allow us plenty more time to get to safety than a song-bird."

"Yeah, I think Hawthorne has a valid point here." Leon says.

 _Good_. Finally these people are starting to wake up. _Welcome on board, people._

"So how do you suggest we make our demands?" quips Old Lenny, he's one of the older miners, who probably knew my father. I don't want to know whether he did.

"It's a necessity we get all the miners to join in. Every last one of 'em. Unless we all unite this time, it isn't going to work." I tell them the details of the plans, and then emphasize on the importance of the cause.

If anyone asks me what I want, I'll say an _Uprising_. But hey, beggars can't always be choosers, and I'll take this to nothing, even if it's a very small step.

We all disperse when the bells start ringing, signalling the end to our shift. Somehow, the danger and uncertainty of the plan makes me feel alive. Almost like when I'm in the woods. Or tangled up with Madge. In short, doing something which is expressly forbidden or way out of my reach. Katniss always said I'm a born rebel. _Hell yeah._

 **NOTE** **: The Waltz Madge refers to is "The Potter Waltz" by Patrick Doyle. It's a nice waltzy number and doubles up as soft lounge music. The slow composition is "Pe Loc", composed by Bela Bartòk. It's originally a Romanian dance number, but has a sad undertone because of a few flat notes-and if played slower than the real tempo, it's poignantly beautiful. The fast music is "Fantasie Impromptu in C# minor", like I already said, and the other one is "The Flight of the Bumblebee"- by Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov-the one that reminds her of Posy. Another really energetic tune is "Gallop Infernal in Orpheus in the Underworld" by Jacques Offenbach. I assume Madge has a pretty big collection of music but has no idea which music is for what, just depends upon the feel she gets from each melody.**

 **Note: Canaries are a historical method of detecting carbon monoxide in the mines. The miners carried them in a cage. The air heavy in carbon monoxide would affect the bird before the miners were affected because of it's advanced heart-rate. Science has come up with equipment that has replaced this historical practice of taking a sentinel bird. Keeping in mind the advanced technology of the Capitol, they must have an alternative technology to detect poisonous air, of course not provided to the miners.**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER-4**

Today's hunt has yielded a bagful of game. I'm pleased I didn't have to wait long. My snares had three fine jack-rabbits waiting for me, and _surprise surprise!_ , I found a nest full of eggs, and the angry grooslings charging at me as I pilfered their mansion and hijacked their kids. But today I'm not in a particularly benevolent mood to let the mean one off on principle, and took three of them down quickly one after the other with my bow and arrows. A turkey showed up too. What a perfect start to my weekend. Lovely. Just three hours in the woods and I'm a happy man today. I make my way to the fence, deciding to enter from the Seam side. I need to drop off some meat at home so the kids can have a proper lunch while I'm away.

I spot Bristel among the people walking down the street as I come out of my house again, among the ones who've just woken up to go about their business, and I decide I don't want to have a fist-fight with him right now. _Not today_ , I groan internally.

"You in such a sunny mood, eh, Hawthorne?" I hear Bristel come up behind me. I scowl at him, but he doesn't back off. "Your girlfriend finally decided to, er, _not fight with you_?" he says with a wink.

"Bugger off." I growl at him. I don't want him to ruin my perfect start to a perfect Sunday by spewing his usual trash.

"Still defensive, I see. Hmmmm..." he sighs dramatically as he falls into step beside me. "I hear she's been running around the Seam a lot...round about where _you_ live, to be specific?" he looks at me through narrowed eyes.

I practically glare at him, though I know he doesn't say it with contempt. Bash-up-Hawthorne has been a favourite past-time of his since we were kids.

"You'e so much more fun when you're glaring, lover-boy. No wonder she puts up a good fight- OW!"

"I said bugger off!" I nearly snarl through clenched teeth, my knuckles smarting from the punch I throw at his arm before I can stop myself. It's the term he uses that gets me off my rocker. _Lover-boy_. It's that _gormless egg-head Mellark_ , not me.

But Bristel doesn't take me too seriously and continues to rile me till I reach the edge of Town. I decide I have to choose between fight, flight or submission. Fight didn't help, he won't shut his trap till he's close to dead; flight- I can't run really fast with a heavy bag full of game, and he always follows. I opt to submit and silently suffer his playful jibes.

"You just broke my heart, Gale..." he says with a mock-sad face.

"Wonder why's that." I say flatly. He's really starting to annoy me now.

"You were good competition, mate. Now those poor girls won't have anyone to compare against my tactics, which are _way_ better than yours." He adds matter-of-factly.

"Yeah? Well, I have an idea." I say as I give him my best fuck-off glare, "Next time you take a trip to the Slag Heap with a girl, be sure to take a dead turkey along. She'll find it more interesting."

"Jack-ass!" he laughs out at me.

I walk off at a faster pace, leaving a bewildered and a very amused, though slightly peeved Bristel, behind me. Nothing bothers him, but I'll take what I can get. Round One to me.

I hurry up and enter the Hob, hoping to finish off my day's trade by noon, I have somewhere to be. I stop at Greasy Sae's at first, and she snatches half the greens from my hands for a few coins and a bowl of hot stew thrown in as a late breakfast. After I trade a rabbit in exchange for a bar of soap, lye and some wool for my mother, and a couple of grooslings for a pair of shoes for Posy-who needs proper shoes now that she has started school, I go to the baker's for our usual trade setting of a loaf of bread in exchange for a squirrel. Next stop is at Peacekeeper Cray's. As usual, I can count on him to pay a pretty price for the turkey I shot today. I daresay, I have monopoly in this department, now that Katniss has officially stopped trading, and the perpetual lack of fresh game in our district adds to my credit. I can sell it at whatever price I ask.

Finally, after doing my usual trade rounds, I'm free for the day, so I head for the one door I've been waiting to knock on. As I open the latch on the gate leading into the Undersees' garden, I can hear Madge at her piano. The melody she plays today sounds different; I can't place what it make me think of- a flowing river, maybe? I want to listen to her play, but I really have plans- so I knock thrice on the door and wait for her to come and make the day seem brighter.

* * *

I didn't get a wink of sleep. Gale has had me completely in knots. Last night's exchange has kept me awake all night, and now I can feel my eyes growing heavier. But I know I can't fall asleep. It's _Sunday_ , for all that's holy, and he promised that he'll come today- said he has plans even. I wonder if that includes a trip to the woods? I feel a little hot around the ears as I remember how we had spent our last outing in the woods, all tangled up, intense stares and bone-scorching kisses.

So I decide to calm down and get on with my chores before Gale shows up. First, I help Rose with the meals so that she can finish before noon and leave before Gale arrives. I don't want her to start asking pointed questions. I take food up to my mother, and coax her into finishing off the entire portion. I'm relieved that she's feeling well enough to eat again. Then after I'm done with the cleaning and dusting of the windows like I had promised Rose, I have nothing to do except think about Gale-Rose is sure to notice my blush. I can't have that.

I sit at my piano and choose a piece-I found it a few days back when I was in my father's study. My father mentioned it's a family favourite: the name says it all- "Two Steps from Hell." Maybe that's why he has kept it hidden for so long. I fumble at a few bars, getting the feel of the melody before I start at the beginning. Surprisingly, the melody doesn't make me think of anything morbid like the name suggests. In fact, it reminds me of the flowing river in the woods, how the notes pull at each other, overlapping once while passing another, just like river currents. I'm lost in my thoughts and my music when I hear the knock I've been waiting for.

I jump to my feet, causing the fall-board to drop with a loud _Bang!,_ and my score-sheets scatter all over the floor. But I let them be and rush out to open the door. There's him, a picture of ease, leaning against the rail with a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Someone's nervous and in a hurry." He teases, never misses a chance. I stick out my tongue at him.

"How do you know?"

"Heard something heavy fall, and then what sounded like papers. Before that I heard you playing. So I'll take a bet you dropped the lid and got all the sheets on the floor." Does he miss _nothing_ at all? A smirk playing on his lips does wonderful things to his mouth, and I want to feel them against mine. But first I have a witty reply to think up and throw back at him.

"Wouldn't want my father to know that I've been playing that particular piece. He let me see it, but I don't think he'll like the idea of me actually playing it." I answer truthfully.

"And why would that be? Sounded mighty fine to me." He raises his eye-brows in confusion.

"That particular piece is _banned_ , Gale." I lean into him and whisper in his ear conspiratorially. That immediately gets his attention.

"And why is that?"

"I'm not sure, but Dad says this piece was composed as a part of some war-propaganda long before Panem. And just like the Capitol banned the books from that era, they have specifically banned some of the music too." I answer with a sigh. "Too bad now it's one of my favourites."

The Capitol has had all the books confiscated throughout the district, for years now, except the ones they send for us to study at school. They say that books from the past reek of revenge, rivalry and violence and treason. But since most of them are stored at the Justice Building, I have taken the liberty to sneak some of them home with me over the years during my frequent visits to my father. Nobody really accounts for them, so I get away with it- and that's how I have a fair idea of how things work.

"Bloody hell! I have to listen to this again. Play for me?" his eyes are big and round, as if he can't believe what he's hearing. This _brick-wall_ of a man. Does nothing stop him? Anything remotely treasonous or forbidden and it's enough to give him a rush. Not that I hate the feeling, but that makes me afraid for him.

I laugh and pull him inside. "Come on then, I'll give you treason."

Gale leaning against my piano is a wishful thought I have cherished for so many years before it finally came true for me a few months ago. And I haven't been disappointed. He looks like a picture of confidence, while I'm strung tight because once again, I'm playing for Gale. It should've been easier by now, but somehow my insides flutter restlessly whenever he is around.

I start the piece slower than I intend and then gradually pick up speed as I reach the crescendo of the melody. I chance a glance at him, and find his brows furrowed, deep in thought.

"So what do you think of it?" I ask him once I'm done.

"The...the river?" He says uncertainly after a few moments.

"That's right! It's what I thought too. The title makes no sense to me- I mean it's called 'Two steps from Hell'. What a weird name for a beautiful melody."

He nods at my remark, but says nothing.

"We need to get out now, if I'm to stick to my plans." He says all of a sudden, waking up from his thoughts.

"Yes, I'll just grab a jacket." I hurry to put on my shoes, and then remember Gale telling me not to be too clean, so I pull on my running shoes, and throw on an old faded shirt over the one I'm already wearing before I put on the jacket. The weather's chilly enough for wearing too many clothes, I muse. I grab a small loaf of bread and a square of cheese from the pantry and stuff it in my satchel before I rush out the door behind Gale.

* * *

 _Crap_. I _completely_ forgot that I have to drop off my game bag at home, and now I've already collected Madge from her house. I've been so occupied with my thoughts that it escaped my memory that I'm still carrying warm bread, and my mother's probably waiting for her bar of soap. I berate myself at being so forgetful. Wonder where my head was? _Oh yeah, Madge._ And now I'll have to take a trip to the Seam, _with her_ , risk being seen with her _in broad daylight_ , by _Bristel_ no less, and then get told-off by Mum for leading on someone like Madge. She already suspects I'm leading her on- given me a couple of lectures on this topic already. _Oh what horror_.

Madge notices me scratching me head like an idiot and asks what's wrong.

"Fancy a trip to the woods through the Seam?" I blurt out. Oh crap _. Crap fucking crap. Crap .Crap_.

She gives me a look as if trying to figure out my sudden change in stance, I must look flustered. She shrugs and walks a few paces ahead of me. We think it's best if a lot of people don't see us together all the time. A miner dating the Mayor's daughter would create quite a scandal, and that would guarantee me a bullet in the head, if everything else fails- no matter how good and understanding Mayor Undersee is, I have a feeling it won't go well with him to know that his only _school-going_ daughter is dating an _older,_ poor, rag-tag Seam _miner_.

I tell Madge to meet me at the Meadow as I round the corner leading to my house- once Posy spots her, it's difficult to steal her away, and I don't want that right now. I drop off my game bag, hand over my purchases to my mother and let her know that I won't be back until dinner-time. She raises her eye-brows and throws me a look as if to say _'But Katniss isn't here. Where else do you have to be?_ '

"Going to the woods," _with Madge, but the lesser you know, the better_ ,I finish off the sentence in my head and go out the door at once, before she can say anything else.

I find Madge waiting in the meadow, her back turned towards me, standing against the sun. She looks behind her shoulder and sees me coming, and gives a warm smile. That jolts me to a stop. I stand there for a few moments and gape at her, trying to memorize the scene. Years later, I'll be able to tell exactly what I see. The sun gives her a radiance that makes her beauty seem other-worldly. Her eyes twinkle in the light just like water reflects the sun, and it seems like Madge... _my Madge_...is a part of the sun, light and warmth. Like she's really going home- back to the light and warmth she has come from _. My_ Madge. She's _mine_. I'm hers. _Completely._

I have no idea how long I stand and gape at her like a fool, but I really wish I was a painter like Mellark so I could capture this moment forever on canvas; or a poet so I could find the exact words that could really describe the vision in front of me. Though she looks a little bedraggled in her faded jacket, this slight imperfection makes her seem even more perfect. I'm dazzled and stunned and dazed into silence once again. I swallow hard, unable to tear my eyes away from her. The one who has descended from the sky.

I come back to my senses when she calls out my name, shouts really. _Whew!_ That was something. I realise I'm breathing hard like I just ran a marathon, and take a couple of deep breaths to get my head in proper functional order before I make my way closer to her.

"Cat got your tongue, Gale?" she says softly, her tinkling chuckle dancing in the air.

I start to say something but my voice comes out hoarse. I clear my throat loudly, and shake my head to clear it out a bit.

"Let's get going, we have to make it back before sun-down." I manage choking out the words. I'm still a little dazed. Like I'm falling... _again_.

I take her hand and lead her towards the fence- after I make sure the fence isn't alive and buzzing with electricity, I hold up one of the warped wires to let Madge wriggle herself out, and then I follow. I look behind my shoulders every few steps to make sure nobody catches sight of us going beyond the fence, and I find the coast clear. I walk a little faster because I can't wait any longer now. My rankled nerves will fail me if I don't get this done quick.

Madge bumps into my shoulder and I see her running past me at full pelt. "Race you to the river!" she shouts, giggling and laughing, and disappears into the trees. I start to follow her, and then I really start running. So she wants to play too, I think, a smirk pulling at my face. _Does she even know her way to the river?_

"Madge!" I call when I lose sight of her, and strain my trained hunter-ears to pick up her noisy footsteps. Nothing. She was a just a few metres ahead of me.

"Madge! Quit it." I start to get annoyed. This isn't funny. "You know this isn't funny." I growl loudly.

I look around me; check the soft ground for her foot-prints. They stop exactly where I'm standing now. She can't have just flown off. Right. _The trees!_

And just as I'm about to look up, something heavy falls on my shoulder softly from behind and I flinch horribly with a yelp, thinking it's a snake, and look up. It's Madge's leg, hanging from the branch above my head.

" _Ice_!", she whispers softly, her eyes glittering like the sky frozen into stone as she looks down at me

"Get down here now!" I growl at her. Of _all_ the times she could have played, she thought of playing Fire and Ice _now,_ that too out in the woods, for fuck's sake! It looks like I'm a pretty good teacher, but it backfires on me. She can now climb a tree almost as silently and quickly as Katniss. She looks down prettily from her perch on a branch directly above me, and gives a full belly-laugh. My annoyance vanishes on the spot. She slithers down the trunk and comes closer, smiles and takes my hand. She never ceases to amaze me.

"You should've seen your face, Gale!" she teases, "I never thought I'd see you flinch."

"These are the woods Madge." I reply sourly, I admit I'm not a good sport like she is. "There are wild animals out here that do much more than just make you flinch." I stalk towards her, cornering her in to the tree. She takes a step back as she teases her lower lip with her teeth; none of her actions has a coquettish intent though. Coming from Madge, they are innocent gestures of nervousness. Am I making her nervous? Oh yeah, now _this_ is my favourite game. I give her an evil predatory grin.

"They trail you," I say in a low voice. I take another step closer; she backs off. "They sniff you out,"- she's flattens herself against the tree, a playful smile tugging at her lips, and I know she's enjoying this just as much as I am.

"And when you think they have given up and gone their way," I let my arms slowly snake around her waist, pulling her to me a little rougher than I intended, and run my thumb over her narrow waist. She gasps softly, her eyes a little wide as she looks up at me, her mouth forming a soft _O._

"And you're sure that you've hoodwinked them," I lean into her, letting her sweet scent invade my senses, "They pounce on you." I finish in barely a whisper, the end of my nose brushing her cheek, as I snap the thread of self-restraint I was hanging onto and bend over to capture her soft lips in mine.

* * *

 _Heavens_. I can't ever say I'm too familiar with Gale's kisses. Each time he does that, he makes it feel just like the first time he ever kissed me. Like being charred and _burned down to ashes_. He's heat and fire and hard muscles and gentleness as he holds me tightly to him, his lips move hungrily against my own. I'm feeling lightheaded, and my legs threaten to give away; so I bring up my hands resting on his chest to fist in his collar. He tips my head back and deepens the kiss, his teeth tugging at my lower lip, and I can't stop a needful sound from escaping from somewhere deep within me. His answering throaty growl sends my heart hammering against my ribs, and I'm sure he can feel it resonating against his chest.

Gale's hands roam freely from my waist to my hips, and then to my back, before one of them tangles in my hair and the other one finds its way back to my waist, pulling me even closer to him, arching me into his body. He breaks the kiss, gasping for breath, but doesn't break contact with my skin. I'm dizzy because I forgot to breathe. His lips skim against my jaw and then up and down my neck, and I try to inhale, but it hurts. He plants feather-soft kisses against my neck as he catches his breath, leaving a fiery trail behind as his breath fans over my heated skin. I feel hot, much too hot for a cold windy day, and I'm beginning to doubt my decision to wear too many layers of clothing.

I shiver against him, but not from the chill. I'm too warm-much too warm; and I feel my insides melting, but I want _more_. I don't _know_ what it is that I'm seeking, but I want more of this closeness. Even though he has me in an iron-hold, I want him to hold me tighter.

"Gale..." I sigh; no longer able to hold myself steady, I fall into his arms, and he catches me easily, leaning heavily onto the tree.

When he looks up, I find myself looking into a pair of eyes resembling the dark clouds before a heavy thunder-storm. His eyes bore into mine, and I can see my desire reflected in them. His long fingers untangle themselves from my hair and caress my face, my lips; I realise I've been biting down on my lower lip when he tugs it free.

He leans in slightly and I feel his lips moving against my ear as he whispers in a deliciously low, husky voice, "And so the hunter fell in love with the princess."

* * *

I feel a thousand times happier and relieved now that I have said it aloud. I can swear she is stunned into silence. Maybe she didn't expect me to fall in love with _her_ \- the one I went _out of the way_ to be mean to; even took pleasure in it. But hey, that was when I had put her in a box high up on a shelf marked 'Out of Reach'. Or maybe she didn't think I'd say it so soon after she has admitted her love for me.

"Oh, Gale. What have you _done_?" she whispers, though her face registers shock- _elation_? Her eyes glisten with moisture, and for a moment I'm afraid that maybe I ruined it.

She positively starts crying-laughing-and crying at the same time, and throws herself at me, hiding her face on my chest.

"What?" I ask uncertainly. I haven't ever said this to a girl before so I have no point of reference about what I should expect.

She doesn't say anything but just holds me tighter and cries harder. _Must the entire female population be so teary when they like something? Or not?_ I try to draw reference from my earlier antics, but find nothing where Madge is concerned. She was never a teary one. Or maybe being in love does that- I decide.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that." she says after a long moment, and as she looks up at me, I'm once again drowning in her eyes- eyes that contain the ocean and the vast sky beyond.

We walk to the river, neither of us speaks much. I absorb every tiny detail about her. How her cheeks have taken a pretty pink colour, how her lips are curved up in a smile, her hair escapes her messy ponytail and frames her face prettily as they catch the wind. She looks up at me shyly from her under her lashes as I take her hand, and that's how we strike a perfect chord together.

When we reach the river, Madge lets go of my hand and makes her way to the edge, dropping her satchel on the way. Taking off her shoes and jacket, she drops them on the ground and gracefully steps on to the rocks, sits on one of them, dipping her feet in the water. I watch her, mesmerised, musing about how far we have come in these few months that I have _really known_ her. How I would stay as far as possible from her- hated it if I was forced to be in close proximity with her, and now it just _hurts_ to be physically away from her.

I always thought of the woods as Katniss's and mine. The river as ours where we spent so many afternoons fishing and gathering, where Katniss taught me how to swim. Then I came to think of it as my only refuge, somewhere I could gather the broken pieces left behind when I lost the girl who used to be my best friend. I found it difficult even to make room for her when she returned, because she was no longer the girl I knew. The girl to whom I someday hoped to get married came back as someone created in the Capitol labs.

But now I see Madge sitting on a rock, her long, tapered fingers skimming the water, looking every bit as if she belongs here in the woods, amidst the trees, the water, the birds, and the sunlight reflecting in the water. I suddenly find a new meaning to the woods. _Ours_. _Mine and hers_. From being tangled up in my music _, she has become my music_.

* * *

I can't stop smiling. I am living my dream. _Almost._ If only we could have a life like the books speak about. But Gale's still standing at the edge of the river, leaning casually against the tree under which he had seared me alive with his intense kiss and insane closeness the other day.

"Do you intend to come out any time soon?" he asks, when he sees I'm perfectly content to just sit where I am, my thoughts full of Gale. I just smile up at him. His expression is guarded and unreadable. Usually I try to figure out what he's thinking, but today my head is not in proper order. I'm _way_ too happy.

I see him start from his place a couple of times, but falls back against the tree each time. Finally, not being near him gets the better of me, and I open my arms wide, wordlessly calling him to me.

I can see his eyes freeze to steel and darken from where I am; he takes off his boots and his hunting jacket in a quick graceful movement. His shirt joins the pile too and he's left wearing only his vest and his trousers; he crashes into the river. He was waiting to see how _I_ would figure out the rest of our music- how _I_ would add the notes to our perfect tune.

He's almost waist-deep in the cold water; he has waded in instead of stepping on the rocks. He approaches me with the same smouldering eyes and a hard blazing look on his face. I swallow hard. His storm-gray eyes have the power to hypnotise me. But I can't tear my eyes away from him. The way the water slides off his broad shoulders as he half-swims towards me does nothing to calm my breaths, which are now coming out as small puffs of condensed air. I start feeling warm again. His nearness is enough to banish the chill.

"The water's cold." I say, but the voice isn't mine. It sounds hoarse, too gravelly to be mine. I clear my throat.

"The cold water helps." His eyes are dark and clouded, slightly wide, but his voice doesn't give away what he's thinking.

"You'll catch a cold, Gale." I don't think he'll catch a cold, he's always so warm. I hold out my hand, and as his fingers touch mine, I feel the warmth slowly creep its way down to my bones, blowing on the embers which are still smoking.

He wades in deeper till he reaches me, and then tugs on my hand till I scoot over to sit right at the edge of my rock, my legs dangling by my sides in the water, soaking up my Capitol-made expensive denim pants. But I hardly care about my soaked trousers when I'm burning down to cinders. He closes the space between us till I'm practically in his arms, the water from his wet skin seeping in through my shirt as his hands circle around my waist. I gasp. I'm cold and warm all at once. He comes nearer and I can feel his warm breath fanning across my face, his cloud-gray eyes bore into mine, freezing me into place; burning me to my core.

Once again, his lips find mine and he tastes of fresh mint and the river itself. He smells of wood-smoke and orange, and that sends my already galloping heart-beat in a tizzy. I have no idea exactly at which point my legs decide on their own to come up and wind themselves tightly around his waist, or when I get off my rock, completely hanging onto Gale, one hand speared in his hair, and the other around his neck in a choke-hold. I can't tell when Gale starts moving away from the rock and slowly makes his way towards the edge. The deep throaty sounds he makes resonates against my ribs and makes my blood sing in my ears, making my pulse hammer like a set of percussions bashing away. I'm afraid that if I let my hand loose from the tight fists I have them in; they'll wander freely over his wet and glistening skin.

" _What have you done to me_?" he gasps against my lips, his voice deep and husky, breathing hard. I am thinking the same thing. He doesn't wait for a response, but kisses me even more daringly. His hands trace a path from my waist down to my hips as he hoists me up a little before I can lose my grip and fall into the water. I shiver and a small sound of need escapes me when his hands meet a patch of bare skin at my waist where my shirt has ridden up slightly in the water, and he groans. We are so close, yet this closeness is not even remotely enough.

"Gale..." I can only manage to sigh his name breathlessly.

"Madge." He whispers, his lips sealing a blazing path of soft kisses along my neck to my ear. I inhale sharply when I feel his teeth grazing my skin, and then he whispers in a deliciously low voice. " _I love you, Madge. God, I love you."_

For the first time in nearly seventeen years, I know now what hunger feels like.

 **NOTE** **: The tune Madge plays is called 'Nero: Two steps from Hell'. Since Nero's Rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance and executions, one can safely say that Snow doesn't like it much. LOL. Though the tune is nothing suspicious, the name is enough to make the Capitol ban it. Not many people know how the tune sounds like-including the Peacekeepers-because it's been banned years ago and nobody who is old enough is there to really remember how it goes like, Mayor Undersee feels it safe to let Madge have it. Though strictly speaking, that's illegal, but she gets largely unscathed.**

 **NOTE** **: Fire and Ice is a popular game similar to hide-and-seek, where one person is the Fire, and the others are all Ice. If Fire catches Ice, then Ice will become the next Fire and seek the others out. If Ice catches the Fire, then Fire is out of the Game. I assume the District Twelve kids play such games since they don't have the means to play any extravagant games.**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

We enter the fence from the opening nearest to town. Though I want to sit in the meadow for a while and watch the stars as they are beginning to appear in the night sky, Gale says he won't risk Bristel spotting us together now. Is he being possessive?

When Gale drops me at my porch, I am not ready to let him go. Not now. Not ever. He is _mine_. This wonderful, aloof creature is mine. _Officially mine_. And I am _his_. My heart sings and seems like it will burst out of my chest with happiness. I may have been too overwhelmed back in the woods to have noticed anything other than Gale and what he was doing to me, but the smaller details will haunt me in my dreams, which will no doubt be ruled by Gale.

"Will you come inside for some time?" I ask, not wanting him to leave yet. He smiles, really smiles before shaking his head.

"Some other time, I really have to go before Mum sends Rory over to check whether I'm hiding out here or not." He chuckles.

"Will I see you sometime during the week?" I can't keep the disappointment out of my voice; I really miss him when I don't get to see him for six days straight. And that was _before_ he said he loves me back.

"I'll try, Madge. Besides, you know that you're always welcome at my house." He adds playfully, and I think back to the time fondly when he would have given anything to drive me out of his home- loathed it even, if he saw me wandering around in the Seam, or visiting the Everdeens at their old home.

We really have come a long way. From being at each other's throat all the time to seeking one another out during our moments of weakness; and now missing each other every moment that we are not together.

 _Will you think about me tonight?_

"Just as much as you will think about me." He answers my thought as he smiles warmly at me. Wait...did I say that _out loud_? I blush beet-red at that and stare at the bottom-most button on Gale's shirt instead. But he tugs on my chin and makes me look up into his eyes.

"Don't make me say this again. But you are the best thing that has happened to me, Madge Undersee."He laughs softly before he rolls his eyes and adds, "Saying this once was terrifying enough. I'm glad you didn't swat at me already."

"It's too bad I won't swat at you for saying that." _This is music to my ears, the most heavenly music I can think of._

He pulls me to him and gives me a soft kiss before disappearing into the twilight, chuckling, taking the warmth with him, and leaving me feeling cold. I enter the door and turn on the lights and head straight for my piano. I'm wound too tight to do anything else. Dad isn't back yet, and Mother is probably sleeping off her head-ache at this hour. I'll go check on her later.

I let my fingers dance across the keys, let my mind wander back to the woods. I play a simple tune-a lullaby I came across in the box that belonged to my grandmother; a very soothing and poignant melody _-_ and let myself relive every moment, let each moment flow through my finger onto the keys, giving each feeling a musical note, so that next time I'm absorbed in music, I will _know_ the feeling I get from each notation. Gale has given me that wonderful, priceless gift- I was never quite able to define a melody with an emotion before he came along.

I keep replaying his words in my head, memorising each syllable, the cadence, his warm smile as he said those last words before he left. _You are the best thing that has happened to me, Madge Undersee...Just as much as you'll think about me._

I'm so absorbed in my music that I almost don't hear my father come in. But unlike the other days, he seeks me out. He looks more tired than ever. He may be the Mayor, but that doesn't allow him to take a holiday even on Sundays. District Mayors don't get the luxury of a weekend.

"Magpie," he starts, his voice a little cracked, from too much exertion maybe, I decide.

"I'll fix your dinner, Dad." I start to go towards the pantry when he stops me.

"Not now. Come to my study. There are stuff happening." I jolt back to reality from my dream-land. Did they manage to subdue District Eight already?

I follow him up into his study and he shuts the door after me, my mother can't know this now when she has just recovered; she'll just have a relapse.

I wait anxiously; I have a feeling it has something to do with Katniss somehow. She left Twelve just yesterday.

"There's been an incident in Eleven." He says in a grim voice. My hunch intensifies; because Victors start their Tour from the districts in their descending order, and if Dad says Eleven, then our Victors have reached already.

"What is it, Dad?" I prompt when he stays quiet for a while. The suspense is too much.

"The Victors donated a month of their winnings to the dead Tributes' families of Eleven..." He has in a voice devoid of any emotion; just fact.

"No!" I'm aghast. This is bad. My hunch is correct. It has _everything_ to do with Katniss. And Peeta too.

"...for every year as long as they both live." He finishes in the same tone-less voice.

Can anything be worse than this?

"People have shown their support to the gesture, and now they are paying the price."

 _Meaning?_ When I give a blank look, my father explains.

"Well, Magpie, you see, our esteemed Victors got an overwhelming response to their kind gesture. The Citizens of Eleven saluted her like we do here." Oh, our own way of showing someone admiration. I nod to show that I'm following.

"An old man whistled a tune the little girl sang in the Games, and then all hell broke loose. He was shot right there, in full sight of everyone. A few more were shot dead too." He finishes sadly.

I remember little Rue and her small four-note tune she had used as a signal to Kaniss in the Games which took her away. I don't understand why whistling a tune will make the Peacekeepers shoot an old man on the head. My father answers my unspoken question.

"There is an Uprising in Eight, Magpie, and an unrest brewing right under the surface in Eleven, Four and Three. People are emotional right now, and Katniss has given them hope. More than that, her appearance in the district has given them a courage they did not have before. She's like a catalyst."

"Did Haymitch get in touch with you?" I ask him. He will know everything, he as a Victor has access to every district, unlike the rest of us.

"Not yet, I don't think he'll risk getting in touch while he's surrounded by the Capitol attendants every moment. We can know everything only when he's back, or else if Pluarch Heavensbee lets out a word. I doubt that though." He muses.

Plutarch Heavensbee is an undercover agent for the rebels, no doubt, but he's too smart to let Snow get a wind of that, even if that means keeping us all in the dark.

"And that's not the only bad news," continues my father. _What else is left?_ The next sentence chills me to my bone; "they're increasing security in every district, including Twelve. Things won't be as good as they are now."

If I think I was terrified for Gale before, what I feel now is a hundred times much worse. He'll be the first one in line to face the firing squad if what happened in Eleven starts happening here too; and knowing Gale, he will most likely start his own uprising here in Twelve. District Eleven, being a larger District, already has heavy security. From what information I gathered from Dad, their Peacekeepers don't fool around and engage in buffoonery with the citizens like our Peacekeepers do here in Twelve. We have a thriving black-market, where even the Peacekeepers and Capitol officials are regular customers. In Eleven, black markets are unheard of, the last one of them burned to the ground right before the First Hunger Games.

My father can be Father Christmas in his woolly hat- a character I had read about in one of the children's books I had stolen from the Justice Building- when compared to the Mayor of Eleven. Dad says he has every citizen above five years of age working in the fields, and he's strict too. They have frequent whippings, hangings, and other methods of gruesome capital punishment for petty matters such as stealing bread, or coming late for work at the fields.

Our electric fences are up just because they've always been there. Eleven doesn't have wire fences warped at sections which allow people like Katniss and Gale- and sometimes me - to escape into the woods; they have forty feet high and ten feet broad walls topped with barbed wires which are electrified. Not just that; if anyone somehow manages to scale the wall and somehow find a way out, to prevent that they have built the walls over huge blocks of metal, so that anyone within a five feet radius will be dead before he can say "Help!". They don't have power outage near the fence. _Ever_. _And_ there are manned guards twenty-four seven. They have strict curfews and anyone out after hours are shot on sight- irrespective of age or gender. Our District looks like a joke next to that.

If I was woozy with happiness just some time ago, now the cause for such dizziness has been replaced by fear. Pure, unadulterated fear. Fear for the man I love. Fear for everyone he loves, and everyone else who matter to someone.

"When?" I manage to speak out.

My father shakes his head, sadly. "We can't be sure of that. But I expect it to be somewhere around when the Victors return."

* * *

I'm elated. Absolutely thrilled and gliding somewhere over the moon. I can't stop the stubborn giddy smile from appearing on my face, and I notice a few people who know me actually do a double-take. I'm not exactly famous for my sunny personality. In fact, my signature scowl is so much a part of me, that now these people think I must have lost my head. Which in a way I have. To my Madge.

 _My Madge._ I roll over the idea in my head, getting used to the feel of it. We belong together. We strike a perfect chord, she with her sunlight, and I with my warmth. She was right; we're two sides of the same coin. We're both fire, soft embers that warm a hearth and a wild raging one that devours everything. We're both the wind; soft breeze that caresses and strong gust that destroys everything in its path. We're night and day. And here I thought I'm not poetic. Hell's teeth, _love makes everything possible_.

Rory notices me approaching through the window, and goes to open the door. I feel a little deflated when I see him; the promise I made under duress- of taking him with me on a hunt-brings me back to earth. His snares are getting better, and I can't put off the inevitable for much longer. His name goes into the Reaping Ball this year too. When I enter, he says nothing, just shuffles inside without even cracking a prank-which is a ritual with which he welcomes me back home.

However, Vick and Posy race over to me and tackle me on to the sofa, where they both vie for my attention.

"Gale! Have you seen the new boat I made? Prim taught me!" Posy begins running her usual circles around me.

"Gale! Prim visited us. You know what, Gale? Rory-" Vick starts, but stops immediately when he sees Rory glare at him from the other side of the room.

"Vick, stop bothering Rory, and you need to sit down at one place Chickadee." I grab Posy as she passes me and hold her close on my lap.

"But Gale! How can Rory _like_ her? She's _older!"_ I laugh at that. Vick still hasn't gotten over the stage where girls are _icky._ We had to listen to him whine for a solid week till last Sunday because the teacher made him sit next to a girl at school. Kid was positively traumatised. Rory just shoots daggers at him, and says something that I don't quite catch, but which causes my mother to whack him on his head.

She sends Rory into the kitchen to get out the utensils, and asks Vick and Posy to go wash up. This is my cue to make a beeline for my room because I know I won't be enjoying the coming extremely uncomfortable minutes with my mother. When the kids are out of hearing range, she stops me from running away.

"Katniss offered to take Rory out on hunts, and teach him how to shoot." She says without any preamble. That's my mother; she never beats around the bush and always keeps it to the point.

"When did she do that?"I ask flatly.

The anger was boiling away under the surface anyway. Katniss has avoided me like a plague since she's been back, refused to explain why she gave up on her end of the deal we made about taking care of the other's family _because one of us went down fighting and not fucking chose to quit._ Then she threw my feelings for her and my hurt at her betrayal back at my face and chose to play up her whirlwind romance with Mellark- happily twirling for those Capitol nutters in her dainty little shoes and flowery Wedding Dress while my family still starves. It's not that I really care in hind-sight now; I was just too sentimental over losing Katniss to really see the one I really fell in love with. I forgave Katniss for whatever she's done to me- but then she has had the gall to offer Rory a trip into the woods- has already taken Madge there on more than one occasion.

"Yesterday, when you were at the mines." Says my mother.

"Why didn't you tell me right away?" I demand. Now I know exactly why Rory has been in such a foul mood.

"And what would you have done? You know Rory- he won't rest until he does what he decides, just like you." She says carefully.

"Ma, you know why I'm not keen on taking him with me." I implore her to understand my point.

"I know it, Gale. Even Rory does, I'm sure he understands. But you have to handle this better, you know. He is not five anymore that he will back down without a peep when you tell him off."

I _hate_ Katniss. She goes out of her way to make my life difficult since she's been back. It's like the one who watched my back knows exactly when I'll turn away, and she'll attack. She knows all my weak spots, and I _hate_ her for it.

"Just make sure Rory knows what you're doing is for his best, and try to be his friend while you're at it; not his older brother. It's how your father handled it when you were his age." My mother says sympathetically, patting me as she walks away to the kitchen.

I have always had an attitude problem all right, but I've never been at the receiving end of it before, and have no idea how my father handled me. How on earth do I make Rory get the gravity of the danger I put myself in regularly to put food on the table? I explained it just a few days back. If I count the number of bullets I could have received in the head for my daily business during the past five years, I'd have collected a _very_ large box full of bullets by now. I promise myself that I'll take care of it tonight.

Dinner-time is as usual with Posy and Vick both speaking at the same time; I have difficulty answering both their questions at once. The television pops to life as another mandatory programme is about to be aired, and the anthem blasts out loudly, drowning out our conversation. Damn these standard-issue television sets- they don't come with a volume control. They just blare out loudly and everyone's supposed to put on hold whatever they're doing to come and watch the programmes that are being aired- sleep included.

They cut to Katniss and Peeta's romantic sojourn throughout the various districts. It's _pathetic_ the way Katniss literally glues herself to Peeta, and their kisses might be lapped up by the Capitol dung-heads with cheers and catcalls, but to me it looks staged at best, and absolutely revolting at worst. I would have pitied Katniss if I wasn't so angry at her. What is even more nauseating is that the dead Tributes' families are made to stand up on a dais, and calmly watch, even welcome the people who are standing in front of them only because their own child failed to make it back home, even got killed in cold-blood by those very people. My blood boils when I see the desperation around me, the things we are forced to do in order to survive.

My mother notices my sudden aloofness and thankfully distracts Posy by making her look at Katniss's jewel-encrusted pink dress. If Posy is lucky enough, maybe one day she'll be able to have a pink dress. The jewel she will have only in her wildest dreams. I lose my appetite; I was hungry when I sat at the table.

"I'm full." I announce and get up from the table, heading for my room as fast as I can make it.

I take a cold bath to get my head in to proper order before I face Rory. I cannot lose it again this time, and risk a permanent rift between us. Kid needs to know just how much I love him and that is the _only_ reason I'm not keen to take him with me beyond the fence. I head out of the bath only when I feel goose bumps erupt on my skin, and pull on a pair of faded pants and a tattered old t-shirt. And then I lie down on my side of the bed and wait for him to come.

I strain my memory hard to remember what my father told me when I went through a difficult phase; but I find it really hard to recall; these past five years all I've done is put the painful memories in a box, lock it up with a rusty old lock and throw the key somewhere I won't ever find it. I've spent all my energy to keep my family from the brink of starvation. Never tried to dig up the memories, except to find something useful which would help me in providing food for my siblings, like a knot that my father taught me that is sure to catch larger game, or a snare that can hoist the prey above-ground so they don't get eaten by other predators. And now I have to sift through each memory, but I'm willing to do this for Rory.

He eventually comes up, sidles into the room silently, thinking I've fallen asleep.

"Hey." I greet him.

"I thought you were asleep already." He still doesn't look me in the eye. He's shuffling around the room, collecting his pillow and blankets.

"I was waiting up for you."

"Have I done anything again?" he asks me simply, like he's tired of talking to me.

"No, not this time." I'm fumbling around for the words in my head- Madge would know exactly what to say, and very efficiently that too. But I'm not as good at words as she is.

"Look, Rory. I know you want to help. I really appreciate that." God, help me. "I explained last day exactly why I don't want you to come with me to the woods, didn't I?"

He nods, but doesn't say anything. So far so good.

"I promised I'll take you with me when you're ready. I'll take you soon."

"Katniss offered to take me. You're away at the mines most of the time. She promised to take me before school everyday." He says in the same toneless voice.

I bristle as the mention of Katniss's name. I have been doing remarkably well till now, and I'm holding onto my temper, but barely.

"Do you know how terrified I was the first time I made out of the fence?" This boy won't back down until he knows my whole story, something which I didn't want to tell him, but desperate times need desperate measures. So I decide to go ahead. Rory stands perfectly still, hanging on to every word that I speak.

"Do you know what made my resolve strong and drove me to such extremes? I saw you and Vick crying for food, and we had none to give. Ma just had Posy, and couldn't leave her to go and find work. I couldn't just sit around and see you both cry." I gulp, as those memories come flooding back to me. _I can't lose this, I'm doing this for him_ , I remind myself each time I'm about to lose control.

"My name was already in for tesserae, Rory. Even with Dad here, I had to enter my name once for each one of us. We never had enough food. And then there was the explosion, and we were starving. Every night I had to see Vick cry himself to sleep, or you gnawing on the piece of stale bread that was still left."

Rory slowly walks towards the bed, and after he's satisfied that I won't scream or say anything nasty, he settles down at one corner of the tattered mattress.

"Ma had a difficult time too, what with an infant to feed, and three boys to take care of. I decided I'd go to the meadow and forage whatever I could find. But that wasn't enough. The fence kept out the animals and my snare would catch maybe one rabbit in a week, and that too if I was lucky enough, because someone always took away whatever got caught before I got there."

Now that I've finally let them loose, the words come out freely and I don't have to think about it. Rory looks impassively at me, exactly how I'd look at someone if they told me uncomfortable personal stuff.

"That day I woke up earlier than usual because I could hear Vick crying. In the half light I made my way in to the meadow and slipped past the fence. I didn't even know to listen to the hum of the electricity on the first day. The odds were in my favour that the fence was off; else I would have been long dead by now." A sad laugh escapes me.

"I didn't know how to climb a tree, or have any weapons to drive away the wild dogs if they ever came my way. I was terrified to bits. But every time I remembered you or Vick, I promised myself that whatever the danger might be, I'll take my odds. I set a few snares around which caught a fair number of preys, and then I met Katniss. She taught me climb a tree, and to swim. She offered to teach me how to shoot; even gave me one of her bows in exchange for more knowledge about my snares."

"But I want to help too, Gale."

"I know you do, and sooner than later I _will_ have to take your help, Rory. But understand I'm doing this, so that you don't have to risk a bullet in the head too. I had to grow up too fast; I don't regret any of it, but I won't wish that on either you or Vick. Get it?" The last sentence comes out rather snappishly, and I'm losing ground; but I fight hard to do this right this once.

"I'm Twelve already, Gale. My name goes in this year." He says, with a slightest trace of fear.

"And I'll make sure you don't need to take out tesserae like I did. It was _sheer dumb luck_ I made it out unscathed even after having my name in _forty-two times_. Look at Prim, her name's been in just once and she got reaped." Whatever argument he was about to offer dies on his lips as I mention Prim. Kid has it bad, just like I thought I did for her sister.

"When the time comes, I promise I'll take your help." I sigh out in relief and offer a prayer of thanks to the stars that Rory decides to listen to me this once, and I'm actually proud of myself for handling this so well; this went as well as I could have expected it to go.

"Good night, Gale."

"Night, kid." I ruffle his hair as lies down, facing away from me.

Tomorrow will be another day, another Monday, and another week of hard labour for me down in the mines. I think of Madge, and just her thought brings on a sort of calmness in me that wasn't there before. She is the sunlight that chases away the darkness I live in. _I love you, Madge._ I let sleep pull me under.

 **NOTE:** **The lullaby Madge speaks about is called "Bella's Lullaby" composed by Carter Burwell. This melody is achingly beautiful and has been composed originally for the movie Twilight.**

 **Note: The t.v sets provided must have been without a volume control to ensure everyone's watching at their homes. The Capitol loves to control everything, so it seems apt if they control the volume as well, else the people would simply put it on mute and go about their usual business. Only the t.v at the Undersees' is equipped with a mute.**

 **Note: Please review guys if whatever rubbish I write is worth the effort. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks Hawtsee for your valuable tip.. I guess I'm all thumbs when it comes to this particular site..:) The first review is just as precious as the first paycheck.  
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 **Canidae, I'll dedicate yet another chapter to you.**

 **CHAPTER 6**

I never thought I'd be capable of being as emotionally unstable as I am now. One moment I'm happy and floating somewhere high above the clouds, and the very next moment I'm taking a plunge right back down to earth. Being in love with someone and worrying about him all the while does that, I suppose.

Gale's gone most of the week, save for a few stolen moments in the evenings; that's when I sigh in relief. How do those Seam women do it, constantly worrying about their husbands, sons and brothers while they are deep under the ground? Earlier, when I knew I could never have Gale, I worried _for_ him, not _about_ him. But now? When I know that the future I always wanted with him is not actually a far-fetched dream of mine, all I know is that I'm not already dead with the amount of thinking and worrying I do.

With almost no news from the Districts, and the Victors gone for almost two weeks now, I have no way of knowing what's happening all over the country. Dad gets bits and pieces of information we require from the news agents in the Capitol, but as long as the communications don't come in from the other districts, Stage II of the plans can't be formulated.

And then there is Gale, impatient as ever. I've tried to explain to him to wait for the right time- all of us must attack at once. One district _cannot_ overcome the Capitol on it's own-look at Eleven. We must wait for the Victors to arrive; they are the best news agents we can hope for.

I am woken from my deep thoughts when I hear Rose bustling around the corridor, and then I hear my Dad making his way to his study. I follow him.

"Hi Dad."

"Mag-pie, come in. I have something to discuss with you." Oh? _Discuss_? My father doesn't say it like it's something important; he just sounds tired. I nod.

"The Capitol reporters and the media team will be arriving day after tomorrow-"

"Dad! They just left a few days back!" I almost whine in distress. Am I perpetually doomed to playing their waitress and servant?

"Yes, but it's almost time for the Tour to end, and that's what I wanted to discuss with you." He speaks to me like he does when I am being unreasonable. "The Victors are scheduled to arrive next week, and we'll host a grand welcome for them, followed by the Harvest Festival. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Of course, Dad." I frown at him. The upside is that we'll know the entire story from Haymitch. The downside? New Victors are _always_ dogged by the media team, and _I_ have to live with them _. Terrific._ Twelve has Victors, and the Mayor's daughter gets to live with the Capitol people who arrive with them as a package deal.

"All right then, you will supervise the decorations and I'll ask Mr Aaron and Rose to help you with everything you need. This year's Harvest Festival will be different- what with being everything televised. We have to put our best foot forward."

"Yes, Dad. Have you heard anything about...?" I cut to the chase directly before he can change the topic once again.

"No, Magpie, I'll tell you when I do. Now I have to make some phone-calls." Meaning: _Get out_.

I trudge downstairs and find Rose in the kitchen.

"Hello, Madge. Finally made it out of your dream-world?" she says it with a wink, which immediately makes me take a defensive stance in case she has spotted me tangled in Gale's arms in the garden sometime. I look at her straight in the eye and refuse to give away my elusiveness.

"Yes, Rose. A hostess cannot remain in her own sweet world for long, not something I can afford with a Harvest Festival to plan." I roll my eyes, and Rose laughs. "Oh, and the media team will be back in two days, thought I'd give you a heads up."

"Yes, Yes. I have to think of some Capitol-worthy dishes to make." She sighs.

* * *

"Gaaaaaaaaale!" I see my baby sister running down the porch and she launches herself at me, a ritual she follows every evening to welcome me home.

"Hey, Chickadee." I laugh as I catch her and carry her back into the house.

"Madge is here, Gale! She says we can go to the ban-ket!" Posy jumps in my arms as I struggle to hold her still.

"What?" Out of everything she said, only two words registers; Madge and _banket_ \- whatever that is.

"Ban-ket, Gale. You don't know what a ban-ket is?" Posy rolls her eyes at me like I'm the slowest person she has ever known. "It's where everyone goes to eat and dance with the Victors!"

I laugh at Posy's baby words. "So you want to go to the _banquet_?"

"Yes, yes Gale. The banket! And I'll wear the new yellow dress Prim gave me for my birthday!"

I enter the living room, and find Madge sitting on our threadbare sofa, looking every bit as comfortable as she might look sitting on the fluffy couch at her house. She perks up as her eyes land on me and I can't help wanting to grab her and pull her into my arms.

"So Posy says she wants to go to the _banket_." I raise my eyebrows at Madge.

"At least she added one new word to her vocabulary." Madge throws back at me with a smug smile. We may be lovers now, but sparring won't ever go out of fashion for us both.

I give her a wicked predatory smile-that's all I can do under the watchful eyes of my mother and siblings- and I see her swallow, blushing a little. It's an unspoken promise which I would fulfil when I'm alone with her.

"Rory and Vick are already with the Everdeens, helping out Prim." My mother supplies as she bustles around the room carrying an armful of freshly-washed clothes.

"As if Rory needs an excuse to be around Prim." I snicker.

"Vick went along to keep a record- he's going to give you a minute-by-minute details when he comes back." My mother laughs.

"Come on, we need to get you home-" I start, holding my hand out to Madge,

"Gale!" Posy interrupts, looking cross with the hands on her hips. "You never let her stay. You _always_ make her leave as soon as you come!"

"But it's getting late, Chickadee." I try to reason.

"But you can't have Madge all to yourself _alone_ when you walk her back. Madge belongs to us too!"

My mother raises her eyebrow at me as she tries hard not to laugh. The room suddenly feels warmer than it was a few seconds ago. At least Rory or Vick isn't here to pull my legs.

"I'll come again tomorrow, Posy." Madge says, looking a little pink and flustered. "I'll need your help with choosing the flowers. Will you help me?"

"Yes!" Posy can be distracted in a flash, and Madge is great at it; I have to give her that.

"Then I must leave now. I have to go to the Florist's on my way home and tell them Katniss's cousin Posy will personally come to select the flowers." Madge says with a smile and Posy cheerfully ushers us out of the door.

"Goodnight, Mrs. Hawthorne!"

"Goodnight, dear." My mother waves at her before stopping me short and gives me a stern look.

"I hope tonight you don't lose your way home or get too tired to walk back."

"Ma!" I gasp, scandalized that she has the exact idea of what I might have been thinking. I nearly rush out of the house to avoid any further embarrassing talk from her.

Madge is waiting for me out in the street and I grab her hand, pulling her with me into the darkness. I am eager to get away with her now. I hunger for every moment I can manage with her alone.

Winter is approaching and it's chilly outside, and Madge visibly shivers. I pull her closer and start walking towards town.

"You will come to the Banquet, won't you?" Madge breaks the silence after we both walk quietly for some time.

I don't really want to answer that question. On one hand, Posy is so excited about the 'banket' that when I reach home tonight, there'll be no end to it. I can't snatch away her innocent excitement. On the other hand, I can neither stand the Katniss-Peeta puke-a-thon romance nor the Capitol idiots who'll be there. There'll be some thinking to do.

Instead I slow my pace and let my fingers find her face, caressing her softly. Madge leans into my touch and I feel a mad impulse to grab her in the middle of the street and kiss her senseless. Madge looks up at me, her eyes challenging me to make good on the silent promise I had made earlier inside our living room, but I force myself to keep my head in working order. We're out in the Seam for heaven's sake. Any reckless act and I'll be facing the Mayor's wrath, there's no two-way about it.

"So, tell me about the hostess duties." I try to distract myself with anything that can take my mind off Madge.

Madge rolls her eyes and makes a face.

"You know Gale, you have _no_ idea how difficult it is to be the Mayor's daughter.

 _You bet. Kissing you right here wouldn't be a problem then_ I want to tell her.

"It looks like I'm doomed to play the maid-cum-hostess to the Capitol people for a lifetime." Madge says, rolling her eyes.

"Not really." I raise an eyebrow at her.

"And why would you say that?"

"You need to be hospitable to them as long as you stay at your father's house. The moment you move out, you're free, Madge." I reason.

"And pray tell me, exactly _how_ am I going to move out without becoming a Tribute, in which case I will not survive to taste the sweet freedom?" She counters.

I give her a wicked grin. "Simple. By getting married."

"Stop that, Gale. That isn't happening for a long time." She swats at me, but there's a playful smile on her lips.

"You can run away with me." I offer, giving her the best charming smile that I can manage.

"Yeah, _right_ , Gale, and then get dragged to the Capitol, and never enjoy the reason I ran for in the first place." She retorts, snorting with laughter at my reckless suggestion.

"Are you going to use rabbit-eaten cabbage for the _banket_ , Madge? Just askin' you know, my family will be there and I can't allow them to eat that."

"Yes, Gale. Rabbit-eaten cabbage along with worm-infested vegetables and drinks that I will spit into." She deadpans.

I realise we're almost at the edge of Town, and start walking a little faster. It won't do us both a world of good to be spotted together at odd places at odd hours. We finally reach the house, and I silently open the latch on the back-gate.

Madge turns to look at me, and her expression tells me that she is trying to say something.

"You want to say something?" I decide I'll try to make this easier for her.

"The Victors are coming tomorrow. Will you be there?"

"No." I don't offer why.

I realise then just how much she understands me, that she takes all my tantrums and moody answers without asking a single question. She simply winds her arms around my neck and kisses me goodnight before turning and disappearing into the house.

I stand there for some time, trying to gather my thoughts. Tomorrow Katniss will be back, and the madness will begin afresh. Not to mention that now I have a brother to save from Katniss as well.

Come whatever may, I will never be a part of this circus Katniss has joined, even if I have to pay with my life. I make my way back to the Seam without any more interesting events coming my way, and manage to reach the safety of my room before our mother discovers my arrival.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** **This is a short chapter going by my standard. I'm working up to something good. So please bear with my ramblings. Please review if you like this, your words of encouragement makes me brave enough to want to submit another chapter.:D**

 **CHAPTER 7**

It's the Harvest Festival today and the entire household is in utter chaos. What with a houseful of glittering human insects from the Capitol, and only Mr. Aaron for help, and a Harvest Festival preparation going on full-scale to make the event national television-worthy, the fact that I haven't lost my head already itself is a miracle. Rose, on top of that, has been busy in the kitchens seeing to it that our guests didn't find even one chance to complain.

Dad has been busy throughout the week, taking care of the official work as well as a national event about to take place in Twelve. I haven't seen him once during the week, though I've stayed up _really_ late and woken up _very_ early, thanks to my hostess duties.

Gale has also been absent the whole week, never once making an appearance even in the evenings. It's convenient in a way that at least he's been able to avoid the media team by avoiding me altogether, given that they follow me everywhere. It would not do either of us any good if word got out that we are together. Apart from becoming a scandal within the district, it would become headlines in the news. 'Katniss's handsome cousin finds love in the Mayor's daughter.' _Oh bother_.

"No I do _not_ have the luxury to throw out all the bread, you good-for-nothing Capitol rascal." Rosie mutters as she hurries out of the pantry carrying a huge basket of bread, angry red splotches on her cheeks.

"What's the matter, Rose?"

"I've been given a _brrrilliant advice to_ _throw away_ all the left-over bread, Madge. Can you imagine that? I baked them just an hour ago!" she fumes.

"You know how they are like." I remind her.

"I'll feed them this bread tomorrow for lunch and then again for supper. I swear on my dead mother, I will." She mutters angrily as she makes her way to the storage.

It's been a madhouse today, with the doorbell ringing a thousand times and I've become the doorman, running between the front door and the backdoor. People keep coming in, the decorators with their docarations, the baker with all the cake, the florists with the ornamental flowers and the grocers who would be setting up the cornucopia in the garden for the festival.

There's a knock at the backdoor, and I rush to open the door for the umpteenth time. It takes my harried brain a moment to register the handsome face.

"Gale?" I manage a feeble squeak. Must he always find me in a dishevelled state?

"The mines are closed today." He says with that half-smile playing on his lips.

After not seeing him for one entire week, and then all of a sudden he lands on my doorstep is a bit too much for me, and before I can stop to think, I have thrown myself at him, my hands holding on to his neck tightly.

"Whoa, Madge. Easy there, love." He chuckles quietly into my ear. "I'm not alone."

Its then I notice little Posy peeking out from behind Gale, giving a knowing look, which only a five-year old can manage.

"I told Gale I won't tell Ma-" Posy begins in a mock-stern voice.

"Remember our deal, Chickadee?" Gale interrupts her.

"Tell Mrs. Hawthorne what, Gale?" I ask, not liking the knowing look Posy shoots at me.

Gale turns Posy to look the other way before he leans into me and whispers into my ear, his warm breath fanning across my face, "She has seen us together the other night."

I am stunned and chagrined at the same time, and Gale takes the opportunity and plants a solid kiss on my lips.

"But don't worry, love." He smirks. "Posy and I have a deal."

"Which is?" I prompt, feeling my face heat up.

"That's between me and her." He laughs. "So how's the decorations coming on?"

"The last phase." I roll my eyes. "So you're going to come tonight?"

He looks thoughtful for a moment. "I haven't decided yet." He says finally.

"Miss Madge, can I go see the decorations?" Posy asks sweetly.

"Of course, dear." I smile at her. "Go inside and ask for Miss Rose, she'll take you to the florist. He is waiting for Katiss's cousin already."

Posy runs along, leaving Gale and me alone on the steps.

"How's it at the Everdeens'?" I ask. Katniss and Peeta have arrived yesterday, and the entire district has been decked up in Capitol-sent fineries to welcome our esteemed Victors back.

"I don't know. I thought you did, you visit Katniss more than I do." Gale said, his voice lacking any emotion.

"That's not true. You know why I keep going to the Village." I remind him. One evening I finally told Gale about my involvement in the Cause. He was being bull-headed as usual, and the news of my involvement shut him up.

I have heard from Peeta that Gale didn't visit Katniss once since the house-warming party the Everdeens threw after they moved into their new home in Victors' Village. I have also heard that Katniss is really worked up about it. I wonder why Gale hasn't been to see his best friend, but I don't ask him. It isn't my business.

"I've been spending my entire day playing the doorman, and this is how I get rewarded." I smile, trying to change the sensitive topic.

Gale pulls me to him and his arms circle around my waist.

"I've missed you." He says, his voice pleasantly deep and husky.

"Go now. And come back soon, I can't stand the banquet all on my own." I say against his chest, giving him a slight push.

"Hmmmm...I'll see you round, Madge." He smiles at me and catches Posy who comes running at him from inside the house, carrying an armful of carnations.

"Bye, Miss Madge!" Posy waves at me and starts to walk away.

"Don't be late, Posy!" I call after her.

...


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here's another short chapter, a lot sooner than I had planned. I'm not going to rush anything, I'll let the story take it's own pace. So please bear with me. I must admit I'm sort of confused exactly** ** _why_** **Gale wants to miss the Harvest Festival now that Madge and he are together. Blame it on a sleep-deprived brain. Gale doesn't care about Katniss like in the book. But to make this canon-compliant, I have to make Gale ditch Madge and the Festival and go off to the woods on his own. Any help on that reason and feedback on errors are welcome with arms wide open. :) Please leave a word or two if you like reading. Thanks.**

 **Chapter-8**

Rory and Vick are finally back from the Victors' Village. For the last few days, they've spent all their free time at the Everdeens', Rory because of Prim and Vick to keep a hawk-eye on Rory.

"Tell Gale how you found Prim's new dress _absolutely wonderful_." Vick snickers at Rory, who can only shoot daggers with his eyes under the combined watchful stares of Ma and Posy.

"Go eat dirt." Rory retorts with an ugly frown plastered on his face.

"Stop it, boys. Now go and freshen up. You need to look your best for the cameras. Katniss's cousins must look smart." My mother ushers along the boys to the other room, leaving me and Posy together alone.

After a few minutes of silence- I daresay a few minutes of silence is _highly_ abnormal and sinister for someone like Posy- Posy climbs on my lap, and looks intently at my face, her face scrunching up with concentration.

"I won't tell Ma." She declares.

I laugh ruefully. I don't know what had possessed me the other night when I grabbed Madge halfway down the street and kissed her. Madge had personally come to deliver the official invitations to all the houses in the Seam, and a special one to Katniss's cousins. After staying a while with Posy, I had offered to walk her home as was our routine. Madge was going on about how she liked to come to our place and how she wished she had a little sister like Posy when I had completely lost my head and recklessly kissed her. It had escaped my mind that a _whole street_ might be watching through the windows, not to mention my mother and little sister. And as luck would have it, Posy saw us. And since then, I've been black-mailed by this little five-year old terror who has demanded that she is to be taken to Miss Madge's house whenever she wants. And I am also to learn to make necklaces out of flowers for Madge. _Lovely_.

"Yes, Chickadee. Don't forget your end of the deal and I won't forget mine." I smile as I ruffle her hair.

"Don't, Gale!" she swats away my hand like she always does if I touch her hair.

"Gale, do you think Miss Madge will become my sister?" she asks innocently, quite out of the blue.

What?

"She is not related to us, Chickadee." I reasoned.

"When you marry her she'll become my sister, Gale. Duh." She rolls her eyes at me, finding me silly.

I am shocked in silence that my five-year old sister missed nothing, and has proceeded to think about my wedding with Madge. Hell, that thought had not occurred to me. I'm still working out how to legitimize our relationship without causing a scandal, let alone marriage. True, I have teased Madge about marrying me, but that was in jest.

I don't answer Posy, but gently set her down, get up to prepare for another round of circus with those Capitol clowns.

"You need to get ready, Posy. You see, Katniss's cousin looking disheveled is unacceptable." I point out, and Posy promptly runs off to find our mother.

I too go up to change into something suitable myself. I try to convince myself that I want to go the Harvest Festival because that's what I do every year. But that's not the case. This time I'm not at all looking forward to it, but agreed only because Madge asked me to, said she'd be waiting for me.

That's when Vick comes in and starts reciting his report on Rory's obsession with Prim. He says something that Prim said Katniss had suggested while he and Rory were at her place this afternoon. It's so _vile_ that it makes my blood boil and I decide on the spot. No more dilemma.

I don't want to be a part of it. Any of it.

...

* * *

At around 3 o' clock in the afternoon, the Victors arrive, the Capitol team in tow. Katiss gives me a quick hug before she is hustled up to the third floor by that uptight woman Effie. The entire third floor has been turned into an extravagant vanity lounge where the Victors will be prepped by their team.

Peeta smiles sheepishly at me, trying to convey his apology and his embarrassment at all of us being treated like trash in our own house. He too is dragged off by Portia before we can exchange pleasantries.

I trudge off into the house in search of and Rose for some last-minute run-through. My mother is having one of her terrible headaches once again, and I'm not sure she'd be able to attend the banquet.

When I'm absolutely totally completely sure that no other job is pending or requires me to personally tend to it, I hurry up to my room to get ready for the banquet. I have a houseful of beauticians and costume designers alright, but they're exclusively for Katniss. So I have to assemble my own wardrobe, mask and buff my face, tie my own hair, _and_ look presentable next to Katniss.

After about a couple of hours of storming through my wardrobe, I still have _nothing_ to wear which would befit the role of a hostess. Now I'm really regretting not begging Cinna to help me out, he surely would have helped out.

I realize I've wasted all the time trying to look perfect for nothing. I'll remain the maid-cum-hostess throughout the evening. No one's really going to spare me a glance when the Victors are there, save Gale.

 _Gale_.

The thought of him makes me smile and I decide I'm going to wear the dress on which he made that famous cheeky comment on the Reaping Day. _Pretty dress._ We've really come a long way since that day. I want to wear that dress as a symbol of us growing closer and completing a full circle.

That day I had stashed this pristine white gossamer and silk dress unceremoniously inside my wardrobe; just because I was so upset Gale had been sarcastic. Tonight I want to wear it again. I want to see what he says. Smiling to myself, silly love-sick fool that I am, I hurriedly change into it.

I have a difficult time taming my hair which is sticking up at weird angles, and somehow manage to put it up in an intricate braid. Just as when I'm about to work my special festive golden ribbon into by braided hair, I hear someone stomping down the hallway.A few seconds later the door to my room opens and I see Katniss's reflection on my dressing-table mirror, peering into my room.

 _Oh_. Katniss looks so beautiful in her fitted silver gown, that it makes me feel like a simple peasant-girl next to her. I tried to look good for nothing.

"Look at you!" I smile at her, though I can't really deny that I'm secretly a little peeved. "Like you came right off the streets of the Capitol!"

She steps in closer, and without a preamble or a simple thank you or even a smile, in a perfect Katniss-manner with a hint of arrogance, says "Even my pin now. Mockingjays are all the rage in the Capitol, thanks to you. Are you sure you don't want it back?"

I'm a little taken aback by her dismissive tone. I don't think she really wants to give it back. "Of course not. That was a gift."

"Where did you get it, anyway?" she asks tonelessly.

"It was my aunt's." I don't want to offer anything more to Katniss, the lesser she knows the lesser she messes up; she's caused enough trouble already. "But I think it's been in the family a long time."

She arches her perfectly plucked eyebrows at that. She isn't convinced.

"It's a funny choice, a mockingjay," she adds with a smug expression. "I mean, because of what happened in the rebellion. With the jabberjays backfiring on the Capitol and all."

I feign total ignorance. "But mockingjays were never a weapon. They're just songbirds, right?"

She gives me a calculated look and after a long moment, takes my word for it and says "Yeah. I guess so."

I know where Katniss's problem lies, but I don't really blame her. She's that way, just like Gale is. She thinks she is above everyone else and she can outsmart all. She fails to give credit to the subtle manipulative talent which is more useful than brute strength- as Peeta proved during the Games. I can only pray that Snow chooses not to pay too much attention to Katniss and her foolish behaviour, else we're all doomed. We wanted her to be the catalyst, but she has become the flame which is on the brink of bringing devastation down on us all. Which reminds me of the happenings in District Eight. I'll have to ask Dad about it later tonight. Hopefully Cinna and Haymitch will be able to slip away to Dad's study amidst all the celebrations.

...

 **P.S: In case I'm rambling too much, please feel free to point that out. :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Another short chapter. I wasn't supposed to update this soon, but unless I got this out of my system, I wouldn't be able to concentrate on other really important stuff. I hate waiting for updates myself, and the proof of that is this story.(This story is the fruit of a 3-year long wait.) Please excuse any errors, I woke up at 2 o' clock in the morning just to finish this chapter, but if you point them out, I'll be really grateful. And thanks for reading. :)**

 **Chapter-9**

I make my way deep into the woods, not bothering to follow the trails. I don't really need to hunt, but I don't want to give up the opportunity that this situation has offered me. When the entire district is focused on the Harvest Festival, no one will notice an odd miner missing. I would have wasted the time anyway at the banquet. If I hunt instead, that'll assure food for another two days. We don't have to go to Katniss and beg for food.

I don't need Katniss and her misplaced sense of charity. And now because of her, I'm here when I should've been with Madge and my family. She is actively seeking out everything that is remotely precious to me and is poisoning it.

First she took Madge to the woods and took away my wish to take her there first and see the look of wonderment on her face. Then she offered to take Rory and caused a rift between us, and now she has suggested we move into her new house. To my mother. _Behind my back_. Has even put Prim to convince Rory, Vick and Posy.

In her flippant, back-handed manner like she's doing me a huge favour. Well I don't need it.

Katniss may have sold herself to the Capitol, but I'm still my own man. We are poor, but I'd like to believe that I haven't lost my self-respect yet. The Capitol showering wealth and gifts on the Victors like some juicy bones they would give to their loyal hounds; _I don't want any of it._

When Vick told me exactly what Katniss had said, I had to really struggle to keep myself from breaking something. She is right, we don't _have enough means_ that I can go on breaking stuff.

Katniss thinks houses in the Seam can easily fit into her lounge, and my entire family can happily live there. Her house is _that_ big.

I had stormed off to find my mother and demanded why she had kept this from me when this incident had taken place right after the Everdeens moved into their new place.

"Because you'll get worked up about this, like you are getting now." My mother had pointed out. She can be practical, but I don't want anything at all that has Katniss's stamp on it.

I had nearly ripped off my freshly laundered clothes in my hurry to change into my hunting clothes and stormed out of the house towards the meadow without another word to anyone.

I remember having expressly asked Katniss not to drop off any food at our house, and to stop passing off expensive stuff to the kids. They must not get used to the luxury they can never quite afford.

If things were really in my hands, then I would never have allowed my mother to agree taking the Everdeens' old stuff from their house in the Seam.

I keep walking until I spot my favourite tree, and I climb up on it; and wait for the game to arrive. It's dusk and the animals will be coming back to these areas soon. I have to clear my head before I can go back, and there is no better distraction than hunting now.

...

* * *

There's so much food everywhere. Music and laughter fills the hall where all the officials and the Victors are dancing. I can see Darius sidle up to Katiss and say something which makes her laugh out and playfully punch him on his arm, and Peeta says something to Darius which makes the officials howl with laughter. Peeta as usual, is the life and soul of the party, and Katniss isn't letting him off her sight even for a moment. There is Effie Trinkett looking like a walking pot of molten gold; with her golden wig, golden ball gown, and an assortment of golden accessories, right down to a pair of sparkly golden stilletoes.

I'm trying to spot three people in the crowd. Haymitch- I can see he's busy chatting with the reporters, it's good to see him sober for a change; my father- but he's with Head Peacekeeper Cray and the mine officials; and Gale- he's nowhere to be seen.

The banquet started two hours ago, and he had said he would come. None of the Hawthornes have arrived, and I wonder what's keeping them. Little Posy and Vick were so excited that they've been invited as a Victor's cousin. It's possible they're at the Town Square, where the Harvest Festival is on at full swing.

"Hey, Margaret! Fancy a dance with me?" Darius calls out to me; I think he is slightly drunk. His friends guffaw loudly before thumping him on his back and hoot and whistle.

I want to ignore those peacekeepers when they behave in a boorish manner.

He stumbles his way up to me and without another word grabs my hand and pulls me onto the dance floor and holds me a little too close than I'd like. His grip is surprisingly strong and sure for a person who looks drunk.

I am about to make an excuse and draw away when Darius slips his arm around my waist.

"Don't fight, Madge. Listen to me!" He whispers urgently into my ear as he pulls me even closer and we start rotating slowly on the spot.

I look up, confused. And I realize that he isn't really drunk- he was just putting on a show so he could get away with seeking me out on my own without raising suspicions. I nod slightly, signalling him to go on.

"I need you to warn your boyfriend. Starting tomorrow, there will be new mine officials. It's safe to say that conditions will worsen. Things won't be strawberry-like anymore. You understand what I mean, right? "

 _No!_ I look up at him, my bones chilling at this piece of news. The mines are unsafe already, what worse conditions can there be? My worry must have been too obvious to the onlookers that Darius quickly pulls me into an embrace and bends over me so my face remains hidden.

"You're white as a ghost, Maggie."

I am so filled with dread that I can't even move my legs. Darius tugs on my hands for a few moments before I begin to move with him.

"How long have you known this?" I manage to choke out, the fear starting to overcome me.

"Wasn't supposed to know, darling. Cray is sloppy. Get a grip, insane girl! People are beginning to notice."

I want to find Gale this very moment, but Darius holds on to me tightly.

"Remember I'm drunk." He chides me when I look up blankly at him. He turns around and waves to his friends who are loudly hooting at us and making crude hand gestures. But I don't really care.

"Thanks a lot, Darius." I say and shove him off me as I would normally do to a drunk man.

"Awwwww you broke my heart, Maggie. You sure you don't want my earth-shattering kiss?" He loudly says for the others' benefit, chuckling before staggering back to his friends, boasting loudly how he finally claimed his dance with the Mayor's uppity daughter.

 _Don't fall apart, Madge. Not here_. I try to calm myself, and go around the hall looking for my father; but he isn't around- neither are Haymitch and Cinna.

I can't abandon the ball and go off to my Dad's study, I'm sure he's up there with both Haymitch and Cinna this very moment.

"Miss Maaaaaaadge!" Posy comes running at me that very moment.

 _Thank goodness._ Finally Gale's family have arrived. I breathe out a sigh of relief and sit down on the last stair to greet Posy.

"Hello there, Posy. Where are your brothers?" I manage to smile, my facial muscles are on auto-pilot.

"Do you mean _Gale_?" she innocently inquires, but I'm sure this five year old child has more knowledge than any old lady would have.

As if right on cue, Rory and Vick appear, Hazelle following them.

" _There_ are my brothers, Madge." She gives a wide smile, holds my hand and starts jumping to the music.

"Hello Rory, Vick, Hazelle." I greet them as warmly as I can manage. They all look a little apologetic.

"I'm sorry my son couldn't make it. He's feeling a little under the weather. Boy's working himself too hard." Hazelle says at once.

Wait. _Not feeling well?_

He was here just this morning, and he didn't look unwell. And he said he would be here. Then what happened?

"Gale's gone to the woods. He and Mum had a row. Something to do with Katniss." Rory says later, when we are out of earshot of his mother.

I'm a little crest-fallen that he did not make good on his word, but try not to judge him harshly. Maybe he'll tell me about it later himself. My disappointment must have shown on my face, because I see Katniss staring at me from across the room. I quickly plaster a smile on my face.

I try to keep up my act and cheerfully go about greeting everyone. But I really can't help looking up expectantly at the door whenever someone comes in, and each time I'm disappointed.

I try to be hospitable for the rest of the evening which passes uneventfully, unless I count Darius falling on his face spectacularly in a vain attempt to look passed out while his friends punch and kick to revive him, and Effie Trinkett hobbling on one leg with a broken heel. "Murderous. Abomination!" she angrily declares.

Tonight my father will have to tell me everything. With that thought in mind, I pass the rest of the evening.

...

 **A/N: There's a huge misunderstanding going on between Gale and Katniss, so it's only apt that whatever Katniss says or does, Gale will take that badly. Also, Madge doesn't know that Katniss overheard the news updates from District Eight as she was coming over to see Madge in her room, that can make Katniss a little wary and distrustful. (Madge is always a little intimidated by Katniss anyway-and Madge isn't a saint, I wanted to portray her as a real person. Katniss's arrogance got to her this one time.). In the series too, Katniss seems to be on a different page than everyone else; but that's only because she knows some stuff that others don't know and at the same time, doesn't know things which compel her to make mistakes. Just an after-thought.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** **Update! I've been pondering over whether I've become too hateful towards Katniss, but I'm relieved to know that's not the case. I've been reading Catching Fire again, and it seems Katniss was being misunderstood by almost everyone- mostly by Gale. Anyways, I'll keep my ramblings short. Happy reading!**

 **CHAPTER 10**

I return home from the woods really late at night, when I'm sure my family will be asleep. I'm not asking for any uncomfortable conversation with my mother, which is sure to come my way when she sees me.

I soundlessly jump in through the broken window rather than enter through the door; it makes a ruckus on its hinges which is sure to wake my mother. Which reminds me; I have a window to fix now that the winters are round the corner, can't have the kids freeze to death when I'm working myself to the bones to keep them fed.

I don't even bother with hanging my jacket, but simply throw it on the sofa, and go to the kitchen to deposit a bagful of freshly-caught game, quickly clean and gut the carcasses before they start to rot.

I finish up with the game when I finally realize that I haven't eaten anything all day, but I don't really care. I've spent far too many nights on an empty aching stomach. Even though I see a few large white boxes piled up on the kitchen counter which I'm sure is filled to the brim with the leftovers from Katniss's party- I realize with utter distaste that I've subconsciously been referring to the Festival as Katniss's Party- I don't want to make my hands filthy. I dare say I feel cleaner even when I have coal dust embedded under my finger nails than I will feel if I touch the food which came my way out of Katniss's pity.

I'm sure it's either her pity, or maybe she wants to rub the fact into my face that she's one of the privileged lot now. I want to see just how far and low this girl can stoop, and how long it takes before I break.

I'm far too angry with my mother to come face to face with her; I plan to leave early and return late at night from now on. I plop myself down on the threadbare sofa without undressing. That'll save me the hassle to get dressed in the morning when I make my trip to the woods.

...

* * *

...

Sleep completely eludes me tonight.

The horrifying happenings at Eleven that Haymitch recounted have taken away my appetite and my sleep for good.

Which person orders an execution as a punishment for remembering and honouring the dead? Which person puts a bullet through someone's head _in cold-blood_ for showing their support for kindness?

I'm _sickened_ to the core of my being for being unable to do anything about it except sit and calmly listen, yet be admonished for _being too reckless._

Reckless? _Me_?

"Margaret, please do not force me to question my decision to let you in on this, I have already allowed you in too far against my better judgement." My father had quite coldly reprimanded me at my outburst.

I had nearly bitten my tongue off in an attempt to remain quiet while Haymitch and Cinna filled us in on the happenings in various districts during the Victory Tour.

I had been finally able to slip up to my father's study when I was sure that the guests were either too drunk, too tired or simply too busy in their own merry-making to notice the Mayor, Cinna, Haymitch and I all gone.

From what Haymitch said, Eleven, Three, Four and Eight have alreadt started a resistance against the Capitol. My father quickly affirmed that there is an unrest brewing in Eight which looks serious, and when the official news reports say it's serious- well, it's best taken at face value.

"Dad, do you know that new mine officials have been appointed?" I had shot at my father, who looked worried.

He hadn't heard about the new change yet. I have a fair inkling that my father knows exactly what the miners are up to and that's what has him worried. Neither he nor Gale will tell me.

 _For your own good_. They say. I grimace at that thought.

"Now, now _Princess_ , you can't be too sure about that when your father and I have not heard about it already." Haymitch countered. How thick could he get for a shrewd person that I know he is? I couldn't say Darius's name, so I had decided it's best not to say anything more.

"Have any of you heard from Heavensbee?" Cinna had spoken up after a long time.

"Not a word." Said Haymitch and my father.

My father had told me that Plutarch Heavensbee was masterminding the resistance, and that we are to follow what he says. But his silence at such a crucial and inopportune moment has caused quite a confusion among all the other undercover agents. They don't know what blunder they might commit and the whole thing will fall apart in shambles. And now all we can do is wait and watch.

And then there is Gale. This wonderful, bull-headed, most annoyingly stubborn, supremely unconcerned yet amazingly compassionate person that I know. He has somehow managed to make my life perfect _and_ turn it right on its head at the same time.

Somehow his personality has seeped into me; I used to chide him for having volatile mood-swings, and now I am no less. One moment I'm so happy that he is all mine, and the very next second it's fear that grips me hard. Fear for his life, my life. _Our_ life. I'm proud that Gale is a fighter, he will never bend against the Capitol; and then I curse myself for adding fuel to his already raging fire and giving him useful information about how he can start his very own rebellion down in the mines. One moment I so _elated_ that we are in this together, and then I want to cry my eyes out at my utter helplessness.

Gale did not even turn up. All through the evening I had put on a cheerful facade, but really I was aching to run out of the house and sneak into the woods on my own somehow. I _had_ to find Gale. Rory had told me he wouldn't come, but I couldn't tell a twelve-year old why I want to see his brother so urgently; he would think something completely different and tease me about it.

I had to somehow ensure that Gale comes to see me tomorrow, but I didn't want to ask Posy to relay that message either. I did the next best thing I could come up with.

With so much food left over, I had almost begged Hazelle to take some- I had to assure her that she would be doing me a favour by taking it, or else I'd have to stand aside and see the food go to waste. I had packed the food into the few largest boxes that I could find, and then packed two ripe peaches in them.

If nothing else, the peaches ought to remind Gale that I've sorely missed him. I had promised him that I will do whatever it takes to find peaches. But I'm a little apprehensive about whether Gale will even touch the boxes.

"Posy, dear, can you see to it that Gale gets a peach?" I had conspiratorially whispered into her ear.

She had looked up at me innocently before saying, "Only Gale will get them, Miss Madge."

I had thanked her and as a token of my gratitude, I pulled off the golden ribbon off my hair and tied it around her soft curls. The way her little face had brightened up was enough to take away my worry for some time.

I pray to the heavens above that Gale decides to show up. A thousand thoughts whirl in my head, and I slowly, very slowly sink into a fitful slumber.

...

 **A/N: Yes another one of those pesky notes. Madge's thoughts are _all_ over the place right now, so I had to change the entire thing to suit her scattered thoughts. I can't say I found that easy. Cold calculated behaviour comes more naturally to me. No wonder I have always loved Tom Riddle. :D **

**Peaches are quite an item for our beloved pair here. ;) Don't know why? I'd suggest you read the last few chapters of Night and Day by Canidae.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Madge is doing all the talking now, and Gale is..well, not to be found. We'll wait for him to find his way back.. Till then, enjoy reading. :)**

 **Gale Lover, I'll dedicate this chapter to you. (to make up for the abysmally short last chapter.)**

 **CHAPTER-11**

It's been two weeks since the Harvest Festival, and still no sign of Gale. Not even on Sundays. I have heard that the working hours have been increased at the mines.

It's a good thing that I have school to take my mind off thoughts. Thoughts that turn into nightmares, which leave me breathless and crying and awake the whole night . But even at school I find no respite from my worries. I have been having nightmares constantly. About fires and explosions. What if the mines have another explosion? The one which claimed the happiness of countless families including Gale's still have shady official reports.

Each day during lunch hour I sit at my usual table, alone. Since Katniss left school, I don't have a lot of people coming up to me to talk. Everyone leaves me be. I keep looking at the table which Gale and his friends used to regularly occupy, which now remains unoccupied on most days. The empty table seems to mock the huge Gale-shaped hole in my heart.

Today I see some girls pointing at me and talking, and I recognize one of them as Cherry, the girl whom Gale had told off for being rude to me. Not wanting an unpleasant situation, I look down at my textbook which I have open in front of me only as a ruse. Out of the corner of my eye I see her slowly making her way over to me. I finally look up when I see her standing right across the table from me.

"So, Ms. _Undersee_ must have known about this." She sneers my name like it's something unpleasant. I'm used to this treatment from everyone.

"What must have I known about, Cherry?" I try to keep composed and convince myself that it's really her shrill voice that's grating on my already frayed nerves.

"Ooooooh! So this one pretends she doesn't know!" she gives a short cackle and waves her friends over.

"Leevy, tell her how your brother is sitting at home when he should be really in the mines now." Cherry says in an imposing voice.

"Let it be, Cherry. It's not her fault." The girl called Leevy looks away, not wanting to be a part of her friend's histrionics.

"Then _what_ is? _Undersee_ here thinks she knows better than most, and takes is upon herself to give her _valuable_ comments. What do you have to say about this?"

"Can you be please more specific?" I ask as pleasantly as I can manage. I take a deep breath.

I must not react. I must not react. _I must not react._

But Cherry just got started.

"You keep boasting that your father does _everything_ to help us, don't you?" she screeched, her face taking on an ugly red colour.

"Cherry, please." Leevy meekly tries to reason, but Cherry waves her off.

"You may forgive her and her father, Leevy, but I don't want to see my father suffering the same fate."

"Will you please tell me what happened?" I calmly ask.

"What happened? _You_ are asking _me_ what happened?"

"Yes."

"I'll tell you what happened. Leevy's brother here lost his job is what happened. Along with his entire unit. That too because they were _lucky_." She says through gritted teeth. "Who will feed their family? Your _father_?"

"Will you please calm down and explain? I mean, why would they lose their job?" I ask, genuinely confused and concerned.

"Hear, hear. Now she says she has no idea that her _boyfriend_ is the reason behind all this." Another girl speaks up, whose name I do not know, her voice dripping venom.

"I'll tell you what happened, Madge _Undersee_. Hawthorne insisted the miners demand a better pay and safety measures." She glares at me.

"Please tell me where he has gone wrong. Wouldn't you want better conditions for our miners?" I reason.

"Oh, so you know that. Then why has Leevy's brother and his unit been thrown out of work? Why not Hawthorne?" she almost shouts in my face, and then turns to Leevy, "Look Leevy, I always told you that Hawthorne is nothing but trouble. But of course, you'd always tell me to 'Can it'-"

 _What have you done, Gale?_

I was afraid of this very thing happening. I had told him so many times not to do something rash, to bide his time. And if he really needed to do something, to get _all_ the miners to do it _together_.

"-now they have no job because that coward Hawthorne decided to stand back and do nothing while they went and fought for their right!"

"Wait! Did you say their team was the only one to make demands?" I ask uncertainly.

"How does it matter? Haven't you been listening Undersee? That coward brainwashed-"

"Of _course_ that's how it would seem to you. Excuse me!" I cut across her tirade and run out of the cafeteria as fast as I can.

I keep running and don't stop until I reach the Justice Building and pound on the door to my father's office.

"Enter" my father calls from inside and nearly trip on the carpet in my hurry.

"Dad, you need to do something about the mines! They're making demands!"

My father say nothing, just sits there rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"I know, Magpie" He quietly says after a long moment. "You were right. The new officials are not a happy lot. They have extended the production hours."

"Well then do something about it! You can't sit doing nothing while so many people lose their jobs as we speak!"

"I can watch people losing their jobs, Magpie." His voice sounds choked.

" _What_ did you just say, Father? How can _you_ say that? Whatever happened to 'working as hard as I can to make their lives easier'?"

He sighs rubs his temples; a sign of exhaustion. "Magpie, when they lose their jobs, it ensures that the mines don't have an explosion."

I want to cry out of despair, anger, disgust, relief; I don't even know why I want to cry in the first place.

"Stop them, Dad, please." I beg him.

"I can't stop these new officials, Madge. They are under direct orders from Snow. And I can't reason with the miners anymore, they don't want to believe that I'm trying my best."

"What about the people who have lost their jobs?" I press on.

"I can't employ so many of them, and you know that very well, Margaret."

"So you would have them starve to death rather than blown to bits. Thank you so much for showing concern, Father." I manage to throw at him through my disgust. I turn on my heels and stomp away, not wanting to be near my father right now.

I _have_ to find Gale. I make my way to the Seam, not oblivious to the hateful and vindictive glares that come my way today.

"It's always a girl behind all that is trouble." They whisper among themselves as I pass them.

"That boy was trouble all right, but this brat is egging him on."

I try to shut out the cruel whisperings and walk as quickly as I can towards Gale's house. When I reach the Hawthornes' home, Rory opens the door and explains that Hazelle and Posy have gone over to the Victors' Village, and that Posy and Vick are a little under the weather.

"Can I come in?" I ask uncertainly; I don't want to stay out and become the object of the spiteful glares that are coming my way.

He lets me in and pulls over a chair for me.

"Have you seen Gale, Madge?" Rory asks me at once, trying to keep the worry out of his voice.

"No, Rory. In fact I came here to meet him when comes back this evening."

"I haven't seen Gale in two weeks, Madge, neither have Vick, Posy or Ma."

"What do you mean he hasn't been home in two weeks?" I ask, now positively alarmed.

He can't have landed himself in the stocks already, I would have known had that been the case. I requested Darius to be on a lookout.

"No, he has been home. I think. But none of us has seen him come home or leave the house." hesitatingly Roy admits. "He comes home really late and leaves before Ma wakes up, and he never eats at home. Ma went to the mines a few times to make sure he has clocked in. He goes to work. That's all we know."

"When was the last time you saw him?" I demand.

"Just before leaving for the Harvest Festival. I told you he went to the woods. Not since then."

"Did you ask Katniss? Maybe he has been to see her?" I prompt, though I have an idea that Gale will not be there either.

"He hasn't been there once." Rory confirms.

"Maybe the Hob. Did you try asking people in the Hob?"

Rory shakes his head sadly.

"Greasy Sae and Rooba say they haven't seen him since last Sunday."

Then where _is_ he?

"Madge, I'll walk you back home." Rory offers. The sun is disappearing fast, but I'm least bothered about that now.

"Can I stay here, Rory? I really have something important to say to Gale."

He simply shrugs. He doesn't think I'll be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Gale. But I'm determined.

I _will_ see him tonight. I will sit here on this chair until I see that man walk in through the doors. I grab a book from the living room table, a glossy fashion magazine, no doubt brought by Katniss from the Capitol, and brace myself for a _very_ long evening.

Gale Hawthorne, you have been stubborn. Tonight _you'll_ see it how _I_ define stubborn.

...

 **P.S: 1000 views for the last two chapters! Gaaaaaaah I'm loving it. Thank you guys for reading. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you all who have reviewed. Your kind words of encouragement are much appreciated. :)**

 **CHAPTER-12**

Mess. Everything is a mess. _Damn it_.

If only I had known.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I keep hacking away at the coal. No one looks at me or comes anywhere near me. Each of them pound away at the rocks without uttering a single word.

It took me quite a lot to get all these idiots to agree, and now because one of them had to be a complete _arse_ and act without thinking it through, our odds for a better pay and safer conditions are truly messed up. Fucking odds.

What was Paul thinking? That _fool_ got himself chucked out, dragged his team-mates down with him, and messed up our chances for good. _And_ has the gall to say it's _Hawthorne's fault._

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Longer work hours, increased daily production quota. I used to be stuck underground for twelve hours before. Now it's sixteen. No pay rise. That's what we have.

I don't know what he was playing at. We have new in-charges and new officials, and I was biding my time before putting a pressure on them. But that was _before_ Paul and his unit decided on their own to face the officials and shoot their mouth off. Those dullards had to go on a strike on their own. A _strike_.

After _weeks_ of careful planning, and a lot of convincing the entire workforce, it seemed to me that finally we were getting _somewhere_. But that was before Snow sent in his cronies to act as in-charge. Now we had to sit back and study their temperament and bide our time. Hastiness won't do us any good.

But Paul and his gang had to ruin it all. They went ahead anyway, forced their entire unit to back them, and went on a strike. _Fuckwits._

Now we all work sixteen hours. Either we accept what they give us or we are free to give up our jobs which don't make an iota of difference in our lives anyway. Except keep us barely fed, enough to keep us from the brink of starvation.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Mayor Undersee has refused to interfere this time; I see he has a point. _I_ know he is working with the undercover rebels in the Capitol and other districts because Madge told me. But I can't tell the other miners about his involvement. That would assure an outright mutiny in the District, and quite frankly, our numbers are too few to withstand the Capitol if they crack down on us. There'd be a massacre without any resistance from us.

The miners have lost their faith now. They don't want anything to do with me or Mayor Undersee. And they just don't understand why I'd argue in favour of the mayor; as far as they'd bother to know, he's a Capitol lapdog too. Someone had gone ahead and casually dragged Madge's name into all the fiasco, and I had been unable to stop myself from lunging at him. So now they may suspect there's something going on between us.

I take my frustration and desperation out by striking my pick-axe with more force than is necessary, but it will do nothing other than make me worn out before my shift ends. But I don't care.

On top of everything that can go wrong, my family life is not at its coziest either. It's been a while since I've spoken to my mother. I'm not really angry with her. She hasn't done anything except not tell me about Katniss's despicable advice for us to move into her house; even I wouldn't have told anyone. But somehow I end up taking my frustration out on her.

I haven't been with my siblings either. Little Posy is sick and asks for me in her sleep, but I'm hardly there. I believe I'm doing all this to ensure a better future for her. For Vick. For Rory.

 _Thump. Thump. Thump._

 _Rory. Vick. Posy._

I repeat my mantra over and over.

 _Madge._

I haven't seen her either. Each evening after my shift ends, it's too late anyway to visit her at her home. Sundays I have to hunt before I go to the Hob to trade.

Until two days back, some of us met behind the Slag Heap each evening after our shift ended and each dawn before going down to the mines to finalize out plan to organize a strike by the entire work force- this was the only place we could meet up without rousing too much curiosity among the folks. The slag heap is notorious for the amorous activities which go on. Nobody will ask what we are doing as long as it's the Slag Heap. It seems the Capitol is always a step ahead of us. Just two days before the day we had planned to go on strike, Snow sent in new mining officials, and everything fell to pieces.

After what seems like an eternity in this dark, grimy tunnel that I've been stuck in, I finally hear the deep gongs signalling the end of another shift.

"You comin' up, Hawthorne?" Thom mutters as he brushes past me, eager to get to the rickety elevator and out in the open once again. I guess now Thom, Bristle and Leon are the only people left down here who still think I'm not a dangerous person bringing a deadly contagion down on them.

I quickly follow him. Nobody looks at me. No one wants to catch my eye as I pass. No hello, goodbye, 'fancy a drink or two?'. Nothing.

I don't even care to clean myself up like I usually do when I come out in the open. I take off the rag that I tie around my face and take a few deep breaths of the fresh clean air, and then slowly drag my tired, battered body all the way down to the Seam. It's quite late now, and I hope my mother and the kids will be asleep; else I'll have to sneak in through the window again if I want to avoid the creaky front door.

Power's out again, but I'm a bit surprised when I see the flickering light of a candle coming from our house. My mother is usually asleep at this hour, and she doesn't waste candles unless it's absolutely necessary. A couple of ounces of paraffin cost me a small rabbit at least. Maybe Posy or Vick need help, they're both sick.

I'm tired and beat, but I still decide it would be safer for me if I sneak in through the window. Someone's sitting on the chair next to the fireplace; my mother I guess. I wonder why she's here if she's awake. If either Vick or Posy needs her, she'd be in the bedroom. Surely not to have another one of those unbearable chats with me at an ungodly hour.

I slowly ease myself in through the windows, it's not easy when I'm not agile like usual, and peer into the living room which is across the hallway; a really pathetic excuse for a hallway.

But the person sitting on the chair is not my mother at all. In fact, her presence here at this hour is so unexpected that I'm truly shocked.

It's Madge.

...

 **Note: I absolutely enjoy writing about Gale. He's a wonderful character to be acquainted with. He's an affectionate brother and a caring son, all at the same time when he's being a difficult adolescent teenager angry with his mother and the entire world. He mostly isn't there at home and he isn't talking, but he knows exactly what's going on with each person in his family, and he takes care of them.**

...


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I guess I'm turning into a Dementor- feeding off the positive comments all you lovely people have left for me. Please keep doing so, it does wonderful things...:) I dedicate this chapter to all of you. And please point out the mistakes, if you come across any- that will just make me want to improve.  
**

 **I was listening to "Come home" by One Republic after a looong time, and that's what inspired me to write about Madge's feelings about Gale for the last few chapters.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They all belong to Susan Collins. I'm just playing with Gale and Madge and minding my own 'P's and 'Q's.**

 **CHAPTER - 13**

I don't know how long I've been sitting here on this chair. My back feels numb from sitting up straight for so long. It's really dark outside. My watch says I've been here for seven hours.

Hazelle hasn't come back with Vick and Posy from the Victors' Village. Rory says it's all right, because they went to Mrs. Everdeen for treatment; he emphasizes on the fact that he's ' _old enough'_ to be on his own- Gale will be back sometime so he won't be alone all night.

Rory had good-naturedly asked me to join him for dinner, and I accepted. Though I was too wound up to eat anything, I didn't want to be on an empty stomach and have a fainting spell when I'm giving a piece of my mind to Gale. That would be downright upsetting.

Rory has gone into his room, I sent him up to bed. I don't want him awake and listening to me when I'm screaming at a most unlady-like manner when Gale arrives. _If_ Gale arrives. I sit on the chair by the fireplace. Even though it's really cold and draughty, I had declined Rory's offer to light a fire for my benefit; he had insisted to light a candle instead.

I feel my eyes grow heavier with each quiet tick of my wristwatch. I force myself to sit up straighter. I must not allow myself to fall asleep now of all times. I fan myself with the magazine so that cold air hits my face; it clears my head a little. To prevent myself from falling asleep, I take the ribbon out of my hair and start working it into a difficult loop. Maybe I can teach Posy this new technique the next time she wants to play cat's cradle with me.

At some point of time, I don't know why, I feel a prickly feeling at the back of my neck, as if I'm being observed. I turn around. Right as if on cue, I see a dark shape shuffle silently into the living room. Before I can see who it is, or make out its features in the faint light of the candle, it comes straight for me.

I have never been really scared in my life before, but now even as I try to create a sound, my voice betrays me. I never believed in the phantom tales that I read in the books until now. I'm screaming inside, and instead of the blood-curdling scream that I'm really trying to work up, pitiful whimpers come.

"Shhhh, Madge! It's me!" Gale's voice whispers.

 _Oh_.

I'm scared witless. I tumble into his arms with relief, gasping for breath; my heart galloping at an insane rate.

 _"_ _You scared me!"_ I accuse him, my voice still a hoarse whisper.

He chuckles softly, no doubt at the look on my face.

"You scared _me_. I was thinking who would want to burgle our house." He says wryly as he settles me down on the sofa. "Then I remembered no thief would light a candle while robbing whatever is worth all his trouble."

"Why did you have to sneak up on me? And the door is right there, Gale. Where the hell did you come from?" I ask meekly, not having recovered from the shock yet.

"I...er...came in through the window." He sheepishly scratches his head, a guilty look on his face.

"Pray tell, why."

"Um...Mum and I are not exactly having a peachy time." An uncomfortable look crosses his face. I know the gist of it, but I don't want to ask him. It isn't my business to ask, so I give him a wide berth.

"You need not have bothered to go to such extreme measures to scare me witless, Gale." I frown at him. "Hazelle is not here. Neither are Vick and Posy."

"Where are they? How do you know? How long have you been here? Have you been all alone all this while? Rory not here too?" He shoots off.

I take a few deep breaths and clear my throat before answering him.

"It's okay. They are at the Everdeens'. Vick and Posy are unwell I hear. Rory is here though, I sent him off to bed."

"And _what_ are _you_ doing here at this hour, Madge?" Come I'll walk you home." He says as he takes off his dirty soot-covered overalls and pulls on a cleaner jacket.

"No, stop. Stop, Gale." I take a step closer to him. "I waited here to talk to you. Why didn't you come back like you promised?"

It's pathetic how I can't help sounding gloomy. It sounds almost childish to my own ears.

He doesn't say anything right away; he simply stands looking at me. A long moment passes, and I'm waiting for him to break the silence.

"You need to be back home, Madge. It won't do either of us any good if people got wind that you've been here all night."

"I don't need to be back home, and I don't care. So please don't change the subject, Gale" I snap at him.

"But your parents-"

"My parents will never know I haven't been home all night. Thank you very much."

Gale shrugs out of his jacket, and walks off towards the kitchen, still not answering my question.

"Would you like some coffee? We still have some left from the last Parcel."

"No, thank you. Will you please answer me? Where the hell were you?" I can't keep the exasperation out of my voice now.

"On the day of the Harvest Festival? I was out in the woods." He says without any emotion colouring his voice. His back is turned towards me so I can't see his face.

"May I ask you why?"

He hesitates for a while, still focused on making coffee. "I had to clear my head."

That's all I get for worrying myself crazy. A simple 'I had to clear my head.'. Not to mention the disappearance and the aloofness that has kept his family on their toes.

I don't think he'll volunteer anything, so I quit beating about the bush.

"I had sent you peaches, Gale. I thought you would come when you got them." My voice sounds petulant to me.

"I didn't get any."

"You didn't? But Posy said she'll make sure you got them. I put them in the boxes I sent for you from the Festival, Gale."

He turns his head to look at me, his brows furrowed in a shallow 'V' on his forehead.

"You sent all that fancy food?"

"It was the _Harvest_ Festival. Of course the food would be fancy. Who else did you think would send you all those?" I roll my eyes at his stupidity.

"I thought Katniss..." he says uncertainly and turns his attention back to the water boiling away in the pot.

I understand how Gale must feel about Katniss, but he always jumps to the worst conclusions about her. It's their problem to solve, though. I don't want to have a say in this matter.

"I wanted to tell you something, Gale. I waited for you the whole evening. When you didn't come, I told Posy to give you the peaches." He is listening, but doesn't reply. "I thought you'd come at least when you saw the peaches." I add in a small voice, my face heating up.

Again he says nothing. He pours his concoction into a cup, sets it on the counter, and then slowly, finally turns around to face me.

A small smile is playing on his lips. Even though I'm slightly put off with him, and embarrassed that I sounded so silly just a moment ago, I can't ignore how the smile tugging at his lips does wonderful things to his handsome face.

He steps closer to me and lets his arm wind itself around my waist. I know that he is really distracting me from the conversation I want to have, but I can already feel my speech going up in puffs.

"Now that you have me right here, what did you want to say?" He softly whispers in my ear, his breath tickling my skin. I can feel that Gale wants no conversation right now.

'I wanted to tell you...that... _don't distract me_!"

I struggle hard to keep my racing heartbeat in check, but I'm failing miserably. Gale's lips are gently tugging at my earlobe, and whatever I'm about to say, I forget. His other hand has found its way at the nape of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair.

"You must have something really important, Madge, else you'd not be here so late. Not that I'm complaining." He murmurs, his teeth softly grazing my earlobe. His voice is soft and deep and a little husky, but I hear a challenge in it. Oh. So this is his game, and I'm already losing it.

"Yes, I wanted to... tell you... something important about... the new mine officials." I manage to speak. I'm having trouble forming coherent thoughts when all I can concentrate on is what Gale is doing.

I have missed this closeness just as much as he has. I give up trying to fight him and the effect he has on me, and throw my arms around his neck. He chuckles softly, pulling me closer to himself as I stand on my tiptoes.

"So Madge, I don't think you had anything to say. Just tell me you missed me." He murmurs. His voice is so deep and husky, so hypnotic and soft that I can't think straight; or maybe I'm so tired that I stupidly nod my head and say "Yes."

He closes whatever little space that was between us and pulls my face up to his, his lips capturing mine in a kiss so intense that whatever witty remark I was about to come up with dies on my lips, and I'm kissing him back just as deeply.

I feel dizzy because my mind doesn't register that I'm supposed to breathe. Gale breaks the kiss a little too soon, but he trails along my jaw, allowing me to breathe.

As the fresh cold air enters my lungs, my head clears up a little and I remember that we are not alone in the house. Rory is still here.

"Gale...Rory." I manage to gasp out, because now he is placing soft feathery kisses along my neck.

"Mmmmmmm..."

"He will see us!"

"Mmmm..."

"Gale!" I say urgently now.

Little Posy saw us stealing a kiss, that's one thing. But a full-fledged adolescent walking in on us is quite something else altogether. I don't want Rory to have any wrong ideas about us. Gale is slightly on the rebellious side- flirtatious, arrogant, doesn't care one bit about who says what- but he is every bit as honourable as a man can be.

"Mmmm..."

He continues his slow torture, leaving a fiery trail of his kisses; and I'm losing ground once again.

"He's asleep." He murmurs against my neck, his breath tickling my skin.

"He'll wake up." I reason.

"No he won't."

"What if he does and sees us?" I want to challenge, but my voice sounds so feeble.

He straightens up and holds my gaze; his eyes are like hoarfrost in moonlight. I feel warm tingles up my arms as he looks at me, his eyes full of promise, a small impish smile tugging at his lips.

"When do you have to be back?" He asks.

I don't know. My mother will most probably be sleeping off her headache and not notice that I haven't been home all night. My father will be at the Justice Building, like every night since the Harvest Festival. He comes back in the morning for a few hours before heading back out again.

"I don't know." I tell him truthfully. "My father comes back early morning."

He takes my hand and pulls me into his bedroom. It's the first time I've set foot in here. I see that his room is not different from the other rooms; sparsely adorned with a bed taking most of the space and a couple of wooden chairs stashed in.

"This is Rory's and my room." He supplies.

"Where is he?" I ask.

"In the other room. That one has a softer mattress. Kid gets it back hard when he comes snuggling up to me." He laughs.

All of a sudden I'm afraid. Blood rushes to my head and I want to run out of the room and out of the house. I haven't done this before! True, I wanted Gale the other night when he had stayed over; but I knew he was disturbed and wouldn't want it anyway. And I was right. But tonight is different.

Gale senses my unease.

"Hey, I won't eat you for dinner, you know." He jokes, trying to ease the sudden tension. "As much as I'd like to, I have a feeling that Posy might want to make stew out of me later."

He pulls me to the bed and pushes me down on it.

"Sleep, Madge." He says, now smiling softly at me.. "I'll wake you up at dawn. Rory won't have to know you stayed here all night."

"And you? Where will you go?" I ask, now feeling a little undaunted that I know Gale isn't expecting anything to happen.

He looks around uncertainly, then makes a show of annoyance before he says he will go and get his ass kicked by Rory all night.

"Or you can stay here and save your ass. I guess my kicks will not be as hard as Rory's." I deadpan.

He laughs; truly laughs his wonderful carefree laughter that I love so much and which is a rare phenomenon.

"Wait then." He pulls a pair of cotton trousers and a faded t-shirt out of the neat pile of clothes lying on one of the chairs and goes out of the room, still laughing.

I'm so tired and worn out that I've almost drifted off by the time Gale arrives. He took his time coming back in here.

He draws the blankets over me before getting into bed. I feel his hand come up to rest on my waist, and he pulls me gently to him, against his warm body. With his orange-wood smoke and musk scent and his warmth invading my senses, I sink into the most peaceful sleep I've had in quite some time.

...

 _I'm lost in the darkness...I can't find my way out of this tunnel. I've been running in circles for so long and my legs feel like lead, refusing to carry my weight any further. I try to move them but I can't._

 _I can't even see my own hands. The filthy air is choking me, and I can't breathe...can't see...the darkness...the smoke...it's slowly poisoning me...something heavy is constricting my chest. I'm feeling warm...much too warm. That must be the fire..._

 _I try to feel my way through the darkness, and my hands find something...soft and warm, something that should not be in this hell I'm stuck in. I try to make a sound, but none comes, the smoke has seeped into my lungs, burning my throat. I'm coughing up blood...the blood and the smoke is slowly suffocating me..._

 _"_ _Gale!" I hear a voice calling my name in the darkness. I try to call back but I can't make a sound. I cough up more blood._

 _"_ _Gale!" the voice sounds more urgent now. It sounds familiar, but it does not belong to someone who should be in the tunnel with me. It's far too gentle and melodious to belong here in this grave where I'm going to die._

 _"_ _Gale, please!" the voice grows louder and louder. I want to call out 'Here I am!', but all that comes up is blood._

 _Now the earth is shaking, and I am shaking. The tunnel will explode any time. I need to run..._

 _"_ _Gale! Gale! GALE!"_

I gasp, looking around wildly, confused. It's still dark, but slowly my eyes adjust. There is no fire or smoke, and neither am I down in the mines. It takes me a few moments to figure out where I am.

"Gale, wake up!" Madge's voice says, sounding worried.

I try to sit up, and I'm so relieved to find that my arms and legs are still in working order.

"Ughhh.." I groan. The nightmare had felt so real.

Madge's face looms into view, and her face is contorted in alarm and worry. I slowly realize that she almost has her full weight on me, and her hands are fisted in my shirt. It was she who was trying to shake me awake.

"You're okay, Gale. It was just a nightmare." Her voice is soft and comforting, her hands on my chest; she can feel my heart racing, beating a rapid unsteady rhythm.

"Just a nightmare..." I manage to rasp out. The dream was so real, that I can still recall the feeling of slowly choking to death on my own blood and the pungent smoke. My throat feels dry.

Madge pushes herself off me and reaches towards the bottle of water that I have kept on the window-sill.

"Here, drink this." She hands me the water and I gulp it down noisily, trying to calm myself. The cold water brings some relief and I try to clear my throat.

"It's okay, Gale. You're here." She uses a firm but gentle tone she would normally use with a frightened child. She kneels back on the bed in front of me. Her soft hands cup my face, and she looks down at me, into my eyes, holding my gaze.

"Just a nightmare." I repeat, my voice becoming stronger now. I allow myself to be enthralled by her eyes; in the moonlight they are leached out of their pretty blue colour, but just as hypnotic. I am beginning to lose my way in them again.

My hands come up on their own volition to circle around Madge's wrists, and the next moment I'm lying on my back and she is on top of me. I have no idea whether I pulled her down to me or if it's she who initiated it this time. But somehow we end up tangled together, her hands on my chest to break her fall and my hands still around her wrists.

My heart starts racing again, but this time I welcome it. She can feel it beating against my ribs, and I feel her heart start its own answering rhythm against mine. Her eyes hold the power to glance all the way into my soul, to feel every emotion I am feeling now, to know every thought that I possess now.

One of her hands slides slowly up my neck, leaving a trail of heat after it, and fists in my hair. She bends down and places a soft kiss against my jaw, but I've lost my patience. The trail of fire that Madge's hand had left intensifies and spreads through me, tingles down my spine. I want her so badly now that it _hurts_. I roll her onto her back so that now she's trapped under me, but I support me weight on my elbows. She looks up prettily at me, her eyes reflecting the desire that is coursing through me like fire.

Her hands pull me roughly to her and then she is kissing me like she has never kissed me before. Her lips pull on mine as her hand roams over my shoulder, then on my chest and then on my back. She parts her lips slightly, and I take advantage of that. I deepen the kiss, slightly tugging at her lower lip with my teeth. She sighs my name, and the way she says it nearly has me undone.

I mould myself to her, the gentleness and soft warmth banishes the demons within me when she is in my arms. Her lips are now moving urgently against mine, the tip of her tongue tracing a hot blazing trail on my lips. I want to savour the taste and I boldly meet her tongue halfway as she kisses me as if in a frenzy.

Now my hands are roaming freely all over her and the soft needful noise she makes is the most beautiful sound I hear. She pulls away.

"You're _mine_ , Gale." She says it so forcefully, so unlike her gentle self, that I readily yield.

"I am yours." I say. I pull her once again to me.

"You are mine, and you will come back to _me_." She says in that same compelling voice.

"I will." I can't help but smirk. If this is how Madge is like when she is possessive, I should get her worked up like this at times.

She kisses me once, twice, a few more times, and then gently pushes me away.

"It's almost dawn, Gale." She says, noticing my frown.

"I'll walk you home on my way to the mines." I can't keep away the annoyance out of my voice. What little time I had with her is cut short because I have to go down to the place I woke up having a nightmare about.

She squirms out from under me, fixing her clothes and wearing her shoes. I resignedly follow her and go off to the bathroom to wash myself and change into my work uniform.

I go check on Rory, he's still sleeping soundly. There is little food left on kitchen counter, it was for me, but I leave it for Rory. He won't have anything to eat if he's awake before my mother comes back.

When I go to the living room, Madge is already waiting for me. I swiftly pull on my boots and then my jacket and the step out in to the crisp, bone-chilling morning air.

Madge shivers slightly and I pull her to me as we walk through the Seam. She hasn't once asked me what my nightmare was about, instead she has pulled me out of it into reality. She never ceases to amaze me, she is always there when I need her the most, and never expects anything in return. Whenever I'm losing my hold on things, she somehow keeps me sane.

We walk in silence. We are almost at the edge of town when Madge broached the subject.

"You know what's going on. Don't you, Gale?"

I nod slightly.

"I wanted to tell you that day, but you didn't turn up. I hope you won't do anything rash. Promise me. Please." Her imploring look makes me swallow the retort I was about to make.

"Of course."

"I'll let you know about the other districts, but please, _please_ come back to me." She is choking back tears, I can tell by the way her voice cracks.

I sigh. I know I've behaved selfishly. I ignored Madge when I knew it perfectly well that she'd be worried sick about me.

I pull her to me and place a kiss on her forehead.

"I promise not to behave like an ass-hat again."

She gives a watery chuckle before she pulls me into her embrace.

"If you don't keep your word, you'll find an unwelcome guest burning through your candles again." She laughs, her voice regaining its melodious quality.

"Now _that_ will be a welcome change." I look at her give her an evil smirk.

"Stop it." She swats playfully at me. "And please, talk to your family. They miss you too."

"Hmmm. I'll have to work up to that. I really have made a mess of pretty much everything." I offer tiredly.

"That's what I'm here for, Gale. Trust me." She takes my hand and we continue our walk.

When we reach her house, she puts her hand around my neck and stands on her toes before placing a soft kiss on my lips.

I kiss her back hungrily. I don't want to leave.

"Would you like to come in? I'm hungry." She says.

My stomach growls in response, and she smiles at that. I follow her into the house and after a quick breakfast of bread, cheese and an apple, I leave before I can dwell on my nightmare.

I make my way to the mines. I'm almost in time for the shift to start and resign myself to another nightmarish day deep underground in the grimy tunnels. The other miners don't even glance at me.

The ominous ticking of the clock inside the rickety elevator which goes in tandem with my pulse brings me back to my nightmare and makes me want to throw up, but I focus my thoughts on Madge.

She will take the darkness away. She will always bring me back to the light.

...

 **I'm on a holiday and it's the Festival of Colours in this part of the world. A very Happy Holi to all of you, and to the lovely people here who made me resemble a multi-coloured monster, the colours won't come off for some time :P. Holi ki haardik shubhkamnayen. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER : I have used some dialogues from the book, but in this story, they don't have a penny's worth. **

**A/N: Hello again! Firstly, thank you Gale Lover, you saw through the flaw and pointed that one out. I owe you one. (two, three and four maybe but I'll thank you tonnes in advance ;) )**

 **Mita91, Eloise and all the unnamed Guests, thank you for those lovely words of encouragement. nursekelly0429, please be patient, I'm working up to "more". :D**

 **JustSomebody, you quoted me! Thanks! :D you don't know that you made my day.**

 **Secondly, Someone PMed me to ask why I've not given this story a M-rating, surely with all that kissing and stuff and how farther it might go, it is not "strictly T". The answer is, I don't know yet whether it deserves to get one. Most probably I'll stick with T because I'm horribly terrible at writing lemony stuff, not that I've never tried under utter duress, but simply ended up gagging once I read that. Bleh!**

 **Lastly, let me know what you think about this story, it's one hell of a pep-talk when you wonderful people decide to go easy on the silent-treatment, I'll have you know that. :D .**

 **I really wanted to finish this chapter, this is a very large one, and I didn't get time to go through it again. Please point out the mistakes if you find any. Any suggestions and ideas are welcome, I'm taking them.  
**

 **Enjoy reading! And don't be a miser with your words.  
**

 **CHAPTER-14**

Life has been merciful to me for the past few days. I feel like myself again. Since my last confrontation with Gale, he has kept his word, and I, in turn, have retained my sanity. He has turned up late in the evenings a few times, just for a short while, but he came however.

My father has also been a little more cooperative with me, but that is mostly due to the fact that Heavensbee has corresponded again. Now that I have started to think rationally again, I feel a little guilty for the way I have treated my father. He is just doing the best he can.

Haymitch said that Plutarch is trying to talk the President of District 13 into taking charge of the entire operation now that the Hunger Games are round the corner. From the way things are, the job of the Head Game-maker is never an easy one.

 _Really._ All a person needs to become a successful Game-maker is to have a vile, sadistic, _most contemptible_ , atrocious, absolutely twisted and _evil_ temperament. And his personality must reflect on his work. He'd be hailed as an _artiste_

I sometimes have qualms regarding the integrity of Mr. Heavensbee, he belongs to the Capitol as well. But then who am I to voice my concerns when more experienced, older, cleverer people like Haymitch, my father, and an entire assortment of rebellious people from the entire country of Panem have put their faith in him? Haymitch had taken the liberty to point that out to me the other night, not too kindly. I roll my eyes at the memory.

"I must tell you, Mayor, this girl here is a feisty one. And stupid to boot. I wouldn't be too sure about her if I were you." Haymitch can be so insensitive sometimes. He spoke about me, _in my presence_ as if I was a part of the wall.

However, Gale seems to think I'm not wrong. The last time people trusted someone from the Capitol, the consequences were not good. That's what they do. Dangle the bait, and when you fall for that, you'd know it was really a trap you walked into. The Seventy-fourth Hunger Games is a recent proof of that. That Katniss and Peeta are both alive is a freak accident and a lapse of judgement on the part of Seneca Crane. And he has paid for that. He is snugly lying in his grave, God bless his soul.

"Will you quit making that racket, young lady?" Rose barks at me from the pantry, looking harried.

I realize I have nearly been hammering on the keys of the piano, not really bothering to dampen the sound, mechanically playing while thinking about other things.

"This is not _racket,_ this is a _masterpiece._ What is upsetting you on this lovely day, Rosie?" I keep my voice as amicable as I can make it. I am not exactly what one can call 'Maestro', but my playing isn't that bad. I frown at that thought.

"You ask that oaf, Aaron! He can't keep half the garden from freezing to death, so how is that my fault?" She hollers, now looking slightly deranged.

I laugh quietly. I want to point out that now she is making the racket. At least my mother has taken another dose of her strong medicines and right now is far too deeply asleep to be really distressed by the noise.

"Don't mind Mr. Aaron, Rosie. You know how he hates it when the shrubs die off during the winter." I try to reason with her.

"Exactly! Shouldn't he be used to all the bloody _murders_ by now?" she retorts angrily, and vanishes into the pantry, her irate mutterings now drowning amidst the clangs and bangs coming from the kitchen.

I go back to wrestling with the music. I realize now that I've been playing a composition which reflects my slightly dark mood, no wonder Rose thought I was making a racket. Now that I ponder over it, I can see the music I chose subconsciously mirrors my feelings perfectly.

Gale came by last evening. 'Just to keep my word', he had said. But I know it was more than that. I know as well as he does that he cannot do what he wants to without my help, and I need him to keep an eye on the miners from the inside; to grab the opportunity when it presents itself. Father has left that responsibility to me, thankfully, just to prove Haymitch wrong.

Gale is still having a rough time. Both Posy and Vick are very ill, Posy has measles. Food is scarce. He was just telling me about the new regulations in the mines when I remembered that I had to ask him how he got to know about the new officials.

"Oh, that. You're astonishingly dense for someone this smart, Undersee." He had quirked an eyebrow at me. "Sooner or later, I'd have known. You see, they hand us our sorry excuse for a paycheck."

Oh. Yes. That detail had escaped my mind.

"I'm sorry, but given the fact you have had me worried silly, you have no right to call me _dense_ , Hawthorne." I snort back at him, slightly miffed.

"Touché." He smirks. I make a show of rolling my eyes at him.

"I won't disagree, if I had your annoying voice in my ear nagging me to attend the Ball, woman, it would have saved us all a lot of unnecessary trouble."

"Are you actually asking me to be nagging?" I giggle at the thought of Gale actually _asking_ me to nag him. The idea is so absurd that I burst out laughing. It's akin to an angry bear asking a fly to bother him before he takes a swipe at it.

"Why, of course. That's what wives do, don't they? Might as well get you practiced in the great art." He adds with a melodramatic sigh.

"Get lost, you." I swat playfully at him, laughing hard now. "First make sure you don't land up anywhere near the stocks. _Stay alive."_

"Like hell, I will. Come here." He had grabbed me roughly and crushed me to his chest in an embrace, forcing me to swallow the retort I was about to make.

"I'll come Sunday afternoon, okay?" His voice had been full of promise, his eyes smouldering. When he turns on that intense look, I can feel myself liquefy.

"I'll wait for you." I couldn't help but smile like a silly smitten girl that I am.

"Try and stop me." He had challenged. His lips had crushed mine in a passionate kiss...

 _Claaaaang!_

The noise drags me back to the present.

"Enough!" Rosie screams at Mr. Aaron, who is still having a shouting match with her.

It seems she has thrown a cooking pot at Mr. Aaron. I sigh and get up. It's best if I intervene before either can do a lasting damage to the other, I decide.

Sometimes I do wonder if too much liaison with the Capitol idiots when they come here has finally taken its toll on them.

...

I wake up early as usual. It's still dark outside, and it's snowing lightly. I get up and stick my head out of the window. There will be a storm, from the looks of it. That means no game for at least a couple of days.

I quickly pull on my hunting clothes and jacket, my hunting boots and gather my satchel before I head out of the house. Sundays are strictly for hunting, and the more daylight I waste, the less food there will be for the entire week.

The cold hits me squarely and chills me, my breath coming out in puffs of white condensation. I start to lightly jog towards the meadow; by the time I reach the woods and handle my weapons, my hands will be warm again.

As I trudge through the little snow that has landed in smatterings all over the dirt road leading up to the meadow, I can't hide my surprise when I see a small set of footprints leading towards the fence. These footprints must be recent because the snow wasn't there last night. My curiosity is further piqued when the footprints go beyond the fence and disappear into the trees. Only Katniss will do that.

 _Not her again._ I think desperately. _Not now. Please._

I walk as fast as I can, but I don't run now. I'm already not looking forward to my trip to the woods, something I was craving for until now. Surely if Katniss has taken the trouble to come here so early in the morning, on a Sunday that too, it's not to simply get away from the perfect sappy-whirlwind romance; she must know that she'd run into that oddball _pretend cousin_ of hers who she has meticulously avoided.

I briskly walk towards the hollow tree where I keep my bow and arrows. I grimace at that. Now its easy to say _I._ Where _we_ kept _our_ bows and arrows. Shame. I go around the tree to retrieve my bow and the quiver of arrows and that's when I notice it.

Three twigs are placed on the snow-smattered ground in a manner that resembles an arrow. I look at that intently for a while, trying to figure out what Katniss might have wanted to convey by her flash of artistic brilliance. I think for a while until the memory hits me quite out of the blue. It's as if I can hear Katniss speak loud and clear.

 _I'll leave the direction for you if I'm early._

I had quite forgotten how she used to leave me directions in the earliest days of our hunting arrangement, when we still had not reached the camaraderie to hang out together all the time.

The arrow points towards a direction which leads away from the trail; I haven't been that way before. I'm curious to know what could drive Katniss to the point of desperation that she is seeking me now, but then my curiosity has not overpowered my disgust yet. I don't care, and I can't bother to care. I crumple up my curiosity and throw it at the back of my mind. Besides, the cat never got to live; where's the guarantee that I might?

I hoist the quiver on my shoulders and continue going about the bloody business I came here to take care of. The snare run will take half the day, and daylight's wasting already. It doesn't seem luck is really on my side. First the mines, and now out here in the woods. My snares are all mostly empty, all the animals must have avoided coming about their business in this cold. I just find a couple of rabbits, and they are not even the fine, fat ones I'm usually rewarded with. There won't be any left to trade. I have to hunt now.

I keep walking for what feels like hours, but I hardly find any fresh trails, and I'm way deeper in the woods than I usually have to go. It's cold, and the snow isn't helping either. Just when I'm about to give up and turn away, I see a movement among the bushes from the corner of my eye.

 _Thank goodness!_

I load and arrow in my bow and point towards the bush that's moving. I'm way past caring what animal I shoot; I'll shoot it any way and then find out what my arrow hits.

I take aim and shoot at it, and I'm satisfied when my arrow finds its mark with a muted _thud_ , and then a squawk. Double thank goodness, _it's a bird_.

I hurry towards the game, and I'm rather pleased that it indeed is a bird; it's a fat turkey. I thank my stars that at least this bird has been stupid enough to come out in a bad weather. And a fine price it will fetch too. Old Cray has been badgering me for fresh turkey for a while. I decide there's no point wasting any more time if I have a bird to deliver, and there's no more game to find either.

I am about to reach the hollow tree where I put my bow and arrows, but then again my eyes are drawn towards the twigs Katniss has left for me. A sudden unhealthy interest in this whole Katniss-business stirs in me and takes me aback so much, that I find myself turning around and walking in the direction the twigs point to. Clearly I'm torn between my curiosity to find out whatever this is all about and my wish to simply ignore and disappear.

After walking for what feels like miles leading nowhere, I still don't know where I'm going, or what I'm expected to find. I decide to keep going. Let's see what it is that Katniss so desperately wants to show me so far out- maybe she has found a safe way out into the wilderness. _Fat chance_.

I notice a lake far ahead. No, I've definitely never been here, and I'm rather curious how Katniss knows about this place, she never once mentioned it before. We don't keep secrets.

You _don't keep secrets_ , she _does_. A nasty voice in my head retorts.

As I come closer to the lake, I can see there's a house just across the lake. No, house is too grand a word; rather it's a small cottage. I can see the windows are all broken, and orange lights flickering within. So Katniss has lit a fire. _What is this_? Her idea of a sweet home out here? She wanted to show me a broken down old _cottage_?

Is this her idea of a sick joke?

Though I'm livid that I decided to waste my precious energy taking a hike all the way here against my better judgement, I burst out laughing at the absurdity of this. Maybe, not a very long while ago I would have given anything to spend time here alone with Katniss- pretend our lives to be perfect in a broken-down decrepit house; I would have pledged my heart to her, I would have gone down on one knee; I would have promised her my life, heart and soul, and all the other clichéd moon-faced stuff yada yada.

Katniss doesn't know Madge and I belong together. Has she seen sense that her perfect world with her lover-boy is in shambles? Oh this is going to be rather entertaining.

I hang the turkey on my belt and cover the distance to the house, walking briskly. All the frustration I have felt in the past few months come down on me and instead of feeling annoyed, I feel rather thrilled. Maybe I'll give Katniss a taste of her own medicine. _Finally_. I must remember to thank Madge later for being the reason I have the power to say NO.

The door is left slightly ajar, and I push it open. Katniss is sitting on the concrete floor near the fire. I struggle to maintain a neutral expression, but I'm sure my eyes will gives me away. She stands when she sees me entering. Walking towards me in slow, unsure steps, she stops a feet away from me, and looks at me for a long while. It almost feels like a staring contest, and I give her the best trademark-glare that I can manage. She doesn't look away, I must give her credit.

She silently holds up a bag. I peer in- there's food, a flask, a pair of black leather gloves. I look up at her in revulsion. Again that misplaced sense of charity. She has the gall to look at me, into my eyes, like she is doing me a great favour. She has the audacity to give me her _fiancé's_ old discarded gloves. I slowly count till twenty in my head and take deep breaths.

"President Snow personally threatened to have you killed." She says. Simple statement of fact. No inflection in her voice; no expression on her face.

I have already embraced the possibility of that. I had come to terms with it the day I wormed my way out of the fence. I'm a miner. The odds of getting exploded into uncountable pieces, I have made peace with. I raise my eyebrows at her slightly.

"Anyone else?" I ask nonchalantly. She needs to tell me something I don't know already.

"Well, he didn't actually give me a copy of the list. But it's a good guess it includes both our families."

Hmmm. I have contemplated that possibility as well. If my activities down in the mines were to be discovered, my family won't be left in peace. Madge has drilled that fact into my brain pretty heavily. I turn away from her and crouch down next to the fire, the warmth is too inviting and my hands are rather cold in my ragged gloves.

"Unless what?" I demand.

"Unless nothing now."

Am I being punished for being a true friend to Katniss? I don't know what I have done that warrants a death sentence for me alone. Surely a lot of people should be punished for treason, the incident at the mine can't be the reason here. I wait for Katniss to explain, but who am I kidding? She doesn't volunteer information unless her life is threatened.

"Well, thanks for the heads-up."

She must have cracked under the hateful look I give her, because she doesn't glare back at me. She breaks into a smile; a smile I recognize too well; when she is thinking of something which can be taken as treason.

"I do have a plan, you know." She says, her eyes glinting in the flickering light.

Katniss and her plans. Does she have no idea what her _brilliant_ plan in the Hunger Games and then during the Victory Tour brought on?

"Yeah, I bet it's a stunner." I retort.

I'm still holding the leather gloves, and I find them revolting. I throw them back to Katniss.

"Here. I don't want your fiancé's old gloves."

"He's _not_ my fiancé. That's just part of the act. And these aren't his gloves. They were Cinna's." She replies crossly.

A fellow rebel's. I'll take it then.

"Give them back then."

She hands me the gloves and I pull it on. It's a snug fit and indeed they are quite warm and comfortable. "At least I'll die in comfort."

"That's optimistic. Of course, you don't know what happened." She replies, her voice acerbic.

This better be good. I'll know if she tells, and all she has done is avoid me. She doesn't have the right to accuse me of not knowing anything.

"Let's have it then."

She gives me a tired, resigned look and then takes in a deep breath before she starts talking.

"The day Peeta and I were both announced Victors, you remember that?"

"Yes." I say. How can I forget the day Katniss chose to throw our deal out of the window and die for Peeta?

"Well, when we were crowned Victors that night, Haymitch told me how my action would be seen as rebellious. He told me to put on a show of romance, and whatever I did in the arena was because I could not bear to live without Peeta."

I nod to show that I'm keeping up. I know this already as well. Madge had told me everything when she had given the idea for me to be her pretend cousin.

"Peeta's never had any trouble with it, but I have been having difficulty putting up with it. Haymitch kept telling me to be more in sync with Peeta's act."

"Mellark's feelings are genuine. It isn't an act." I blurt out before I can stop myself.

"I know." She says simply. "That makes it all the more difficult, Gale. I don't feel for him that way, not now anyway. In the arena all I could think of was that I didn't want to be the one to kill the boy who had helped me once when he didn't need to. And then I felt that I _had_ to bring him home with me. I wasn't thinking, Gale. I wasn't even trying to be rebellious with the berries. All I wanted was to come back with him, because if I came back alone, I wouldn't be able to live with it."

I don't say anything. This is a long speech for Katniss to make, and she is nowhere near done. When she has voluntarily started to talk, I don't interrupt her.

"Then Haymitch told me that the Capitol was furious that I had forced them to look like fools," She chuckles.

"I had to constantly put on an act, and Peeta started to believe that. It wasn't easy between us after we came back here."

So Katniss and Peeta have never been together? That's news to me. If all that romance was a show, then that was mighty fine acting.

"And then when I came back, I was so happy to see you, Gale." Her eyes start glistening and her voice sounds choked. No way, she can't get teary now after all she's put me through.

"But I was not to be left alone. The President knows what happened that day in the woods, Gale. He came to personally visit me just before the Victory Tour."

Nothing had happened in the woods, except that I had an epiphany. I had finally let go of my feelings for Katniss and fully embraced the possibility of a future with Madge. And yes, I had kissed Katniss. I had kissed her goodbye. I had let go of every emotion I ever had for her with that kiss.

I need to do something if I am to hear her talk personal stuff. I fidget with the new gloves, pull them on and off and then start turning the food into a meal. She keeps talking, and I keep working, just out of the necessity of not having to look at her while she spoke uncomfortable things.

"Snow came and told me how I had to convince everyone that Peeta and I were happy together back in our district, I had to stop them, Gale. All there was left to do was announce that we were getting engaged to get married."

Trust her to make mess of things. If only she had talked to me earlier instead of pushing me away.

"Well, you really made a mess of things." I say truthfully.

"I'm not even done yet." She says, shaking her head tiredly.

"I've heard enough. Let's skip ahead to this plan of yours." Let's hear what she has to offer.

She looks me straight in the eye. "Let's runaway." She says. "We take to the woods and make a run for it."

 _What?_

Has my hearing failed me? Or is she joking? Or has she lost her mind?

I must have looked ridiculous with my mouth hanging slightly open with a silly look on my face that she gets agitated.

"You said yourself you thought we could do it! That morning of the reaping. You said-"

I'm so stunned, elated and thrilled at the same time that I forget all that matters and grab her and spin around. I have my friend back, and that's all that matters. She locks her hands around my neck and we are both laughing like small children.

"Hey!" she protests, but she is laughing too.

I'm too happy to have my best friend back; she was here all along.

I put her down only when my head begins to spin.

"Okay, let's run away." I beam at her. I'm already making plans of convincing Madge and my family.

"Really? You don't think I'm mad? You'll go with me?" she asks gladly.

"I _do_ think you're mad and I'll _still_ go with you." I reply. I realize that I mean it when I say I'll go with her. "We can do it. I know we can. Let's get out of here and never come back!"

"You're sure? Because it's going to be hard, with the kids and all. I don't want to get five miles into the woods and have you-"

"I'm sure." I say, without any doubt about the crazy idea. "I'm completely, entirely, one hundred percent sure."

I pull her to me in an embrace. It feels so good to have her back. Now I have her here, I fully appreciate what I was missing for so long- I was missing my best friend.

"I love you." I say truthfully, not really thinking how Katniss will interpret it.

"I know..." she replies softly.

Sure enough, she has misconstrued my words. I love her, but I'm no longer _in love_ with her. I must make that clear now. I start to draw away from her, but she holds on to me tightly.

"I know! And you...you know what you are to me."

Of course I know what I am to her. I'll always be there to watch her back. I break her grip on my arm and pull away.

"Gale, I can't think about anyone that way now. All I can think about, every day, every waking minute since they drew Prim's name at the reaping, is how afraid I am. If we could get somewhere safe, maybe I could be different. I don't know."

I can see the uncertainty in her eyes. I want to tell her about Madge so that she can ease up on her unnecessary guilt-trip, but something stops me. Katniss is disturbed as it is, and I just got my friend back. If I tell her right away, she might not take the news kindly. It's like the bizarre phrase from the ancient books Madge uses at times; _'softly softly, catchy monkey'_. I change the topic to our escape plan.

"So, we'll go. We'll find out. My mother's going to take some convincing."

After weeks of no talking, if I go back home and suggest we all escape, my mother will think that I've inhaled too much coal dust and finally lost it. Then there's Madge too. I don't know how I will convince her to run away with me, or whether she'll even agree to this.

"Mine too." Says Katniss. "But I'll take her for a walk and explain. Haymitch is going to be the real challenge, though."

"Haymitch?" I ask, surprised. "Are you going to ask him too?"

"I can't leave him behind, Gale. Or Peeta because they'd-"

She must have noticed my expression because she cuts short her ranting.

"Sorry, but I didn't realize how big your party would be." I say acidly.

"They'd be tortured to death to find out my whereabouts!" she snaps.

"And what about Peeta's family? Are you going to take them too? They'll never come, in fact they couldn't wait to inform on you, which I'm sure Peeta's smart enough to realize. What if he doesn't come?" I throw back at her.

For argument's sake I ask her this, but the same thing is eating at me; how will I ask Madge? Will she agree to come without her family? Her father is the Mayor; he'll be in danger.

"Then he stays." She says in a broken voice.

"What? You'll leave him behind?"

Just now she was standing up for bringing Peeta. And what about facing the wrath of the Capitol just to bring him back alive with her? Just to run away alone and leave her precious bread-boy at the mercy of Snow?

"To save Prim and my mother, yes."she answers. "I mean, no! I'll get him to come." She looks like as if she is about to crumble under the stress.

"And me?" I ask quietly.

I want to know whether I'm so disposable to her that she can leave me behind without another thought.

"Would you leave me? Just say, for instance, I can't convince my mother to drag three kids into the wilderness." _And Madge too._ I'm not leaving the district without her.

"Hazelle won't refuse, she'll see sense." Katniss skirts around my question.

"Suppose she doesn't, Katniss. What then? Will you leave me behind too?" I persist.

"Then you have to force her, Gale." She answers hotly, her voice beginning to rise. "Do you think I'm making this stuff up?"

"I don't know. Maybe the president is just manipulating you. I mean he's throwing you a wedding. You saw how the Capitol crowd reacted. He can't kill you or Peeta after that." I reason. "How's he going to get out of that one?"

Katniss's face turns an ugly splotchy red.

"Well, with an uprising in District Eight, I doubt he's spending much time choosing my wedding cake!" she screams at me.

This is the second time today I'm questioning my hearing. Did I hear that right?

"There's an uprising in Eight?" I gasp out.

That makes so much sense now. The sudden arrival of the new officials in the mines, Madge's constant warnings, the Mayor's refusal to work with the miners. It _all_ makes sense now. But if Madge knew that, why didn't she tell me?

"I don't know if it's really an uprising." She hastily says. "There's unrest. People in the streets-"

"What did you see?" I demand, grabbing her by her shoulders and shaking her slightly.

I need to know this. This is happening. I have waited for this to happen.

"Nothing!" she looks alarmed at my concern.

"Damn it! Tell me, Katniss!"

"Nothing in person. I just heard something." She answers, looking intently at me like I might sprout wings any moment.

"I saw something on the Mayor's television. I wasn't supposed to. There was a crowd, and fires, and the Peacekeepers were gunning people down, but they were fighting back."

She looks down at her feet, as if ashamed of admitting to some crime, but my feel my blood pumping in my veins. I have to form a strategy now. But before that I have some questions to ask of Madge.

"It's my fault, Gale. Because of what I did in the arena." She says quietly. "If I had just killed myself with those berries, none of this would've happened. Peeta could have come home and lived, and everyone else would have been safe too."

I give an exasperated laugh. This insane girl has unknowingly given everyone a reason to fight back, a hope to fight for a better life.

"Safe to do what?" I ask, my voice comes out gentler now. "Starve? Work like slaves? Send their kids to the reaping? You haven't hurt people-you've given them an opportunity. They just have to be brave enough to take it."

I tell her about what we are planning down in the mines, and Katniss looks more alarmed.

"Stop it!" She gasps. "You don't know what you're saying. The Peacekeepers outside of Twelve, they're not like Darius, or even Cray!"

Madge had said the exact same thing one evening when I had told her my plans.

"The lives of district people-they mean less than nothing to them!" she exclaims, exasperatedly, her hands pulling at her hair.

"That's why we have to join the fight!" I say excitedly. I can't keep this insane burst of energy contained any longer. I need to get back to the district right now. I need to see Madge.

"No! We have to leave here before they kill us and a lot of other people too!" she yells, dragging at my arm as I move to walk away. She holds on to my hand tightly.

But I really can't waste any moment now. So I roughly push her away. I can't throw this opportunity.

"You leave, then." I let go of her hand. "I'd never go in a million years."

I don't quit. I'll stay and fight.

"You were happy enough to go before. I don't see how an uprising in District Eight does anything but make it more important that we leave. You're just mad about-"

 _Not Peeta, surely._ I want to throw back at her, but bite down on my tongue. I have overcome that pettiness completely some time ago.

"What about your family?" Katniss changes tack.

Why do I keep forgetting just how selfish Katniss is?

"What about the other families, Katniss?" I ask, I can't keep the acid out of my voice any more.

"What about the ones who can't run away? Don't you see? It can't be about saving _us_ any more. Not if the rebellion's begun!"

I am simply too disgusted to talk o her any more. I'll end up doing something stupid if I stay here any longer. Katniss can unite the entire nation in this, but instead she chooses to fucking run away.

"You could do so much, you know." I can barely control my hands from shaking now. I can't stand quitters. Especially not ones who used to fight tooth and nail alongside me, and who switched sides.

"I changed my mind." I hurl the gloves at her feet in absolute disgust. "I don't want anything they made in the Capitol."

I have the satisfaction of seeing Katniss's stunned expression as she registers my double-edged insult before I turn and walk out without another backward glance.

I have an unearthly vigour running through my veins as I hurry towards the district. I take to the fence at a run and hurriedly drop the two rabbits at home. I need to finish with this business with Cray before I can go to Madge, and I need to see her badly. I have to know how much she knows. I want to join her in whatever she's doing.

As I hurry along to the town, something seems off, but I can't really care to stop and ponder about that now. There are a lot of Peacekeepers milling around. Some of them look at me; they don't look happy. What's the matter with them? I'll ask Darius later. I keep walking towards Cray's house.

Two of the Peacekeepers throw me awkward, shifty looks. I recognize them; they're Purnia and her friend Crazy Lucia. Something must not be right. I shake my head and walk faster.

Usually Cray's house does not have Peacekeepers standing guards, but today there are two of them, standing on each side of the gate. I recognize them too; Caius and Marcus they're called, I think. They are regulars at the Hob. They look at me like they're trying to tell me something, but before I can ask them what's the matter, the door bangs open. I look up, and see a tall, stocky Peacekeeper walk out. He has a thuggish look about him, and I've never seen him here before.

"I came to see Peacekeeper Cray." I announce. The man stares at me; his gaze makes me uncomfortable; he reminds me of a bull-frog looking at its prey.

He waves his hand and the two Peacekeepers standing guard suddenly pounce on me and tackle me to the ground, forcing me to kneel.

" _Peacekeeper_ Cray has been taken care of, son." He wets his lips with this tongue as he stares at me. I recognize his look immediately; it's how a predator looks at it's prey before it attacks. I'm trapped.

"Cray has been taken care of." He repeats softly. "And now...it's _your_ turn. Take him away guards!"

...

 **Note: In case anyone is wondering what Rose is referring to as "racket", I'll have you know its Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.1 in F Minor Op.2, No.1 IV Prestissimo. I know it's a long name, but usually long names come as a package deal with class and elegance. It's Beethoven, for heaven's sake.  
**

 **Gale is cursing the snow, but that just indirectly saves his life. He has a lesser haul than usual; else he might have packed a bullet in the head right away.**

 **Next time we meet, we'll be on the other side of the whipping. Stay tuned, and leave reviews. :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello! After a looong long time. I forgot the password to my account, my brain has been like oatmeal for all this time. Finally I got this chapter up, and I'll crawl back under the stone I came up from. If you do end up hating me after reading this, do tell. Enjoy.**

 **-S.  
**

 **CHAPTER-54  
**

I stay in bed for a long while, though I've been awake. I lazily watch the soft snow-flakes drifting down. It has snowed throughout the night, and it looks beautiful outside. I must admit, as much as Mr. Aaron hates the winter, it's my favourite season; all I feel like doing is take a book and curl up next to the fireplace in the parlour.

I only drag myself out of the bed when I hear Rose bustling through the corridor; she must be on her way to my mother's room. I feel a happy and light-headed, but then I always feel happy and light-headed on Sundays. Gale comes on Sundays, and he has diligently come every other evening after a terribly hard day at work, without complain, just to 'keep my tantrums at bay'.

"If Sleeping Beauty has finally woken up, would she please tell me what she would like for breakfast?" I hear Rose call out teasingly while passing my door.

"Coming down in a minute, Rose. We mustn't mock one other." I give a wide, impish grin.

I hear her tinkling laughter as she walks away. I quickly change into a shirt and a pair of slacks, pull a jumper over my head and nearly skip down the stairs into the pantry.

"Jolly good morning it is." Rose smirks at me, while stirring a pot of stew boiling away on the stove.

"Mmmmm...smells good, Rose." I give her an appreciative smile, "Snow, good music, warm hearth, a good book and hot stew...mmmmm...what else can a girl want?" I ask dreamily, but mentally answer my own question.

 _Gale._ That's the only missing piece.

"Get that dreamy look off your face, girl. I know my stew isn't bringing that look." Rose raises one eyebrow at me and give a meaningful look, "It's not noon yet, it's still morning."

"Thanks, but I don't think I have lost the ability to read the clock for myself overnight." I laugh at her, trying to steer the conversation from the awkward topic Rose wants to broach each time.

I good-naturedly hanker with her in the pantry for some time, have my breakfast, and then head into the parlour. I wanted to get done with this new piece before Gale arrives, maybe he'll be able to help me solve this great mystery.

The music I have been sweating over belonged to Grandmother Undersee, like all the other, but this one has been driving me crazy. I can't seem to work out the opening few bars at all. It's clearly not meant to be played on a piano, but I've been dying to know how it might actually sound like; besides I've never heard nightingales sing before, I've only read about them in the books.

I'm so lost in my music that I don't even notice that it's past noon, and Gale hasn't arrived yet. Only when the clock chimes I remember that he's late. It's not that he has never been late on Sundays before, but I can't exactly tell why I feel uneasy about it.

"Magpie, that was beautiful." My mother's soft voice says from behind me.

"Mother, what are you doing down here? Was I too loud?" I ask apologetically.

"No, honey. The music was so sweet that I came down. I wanted to see you play it." She smiles at me, running her fingers through my hair lightly.

"Did you finish your meal?" I ask her. She just smiles at me, seating herself on the stool beside me.

"Mother, do you know this piece?" I ask her, though I'm sure she won't really know the answer to my question. But she surprises me.

"Your Grandfather Undersee played this part on his flute, darling. Long before you came along. Your grandmother would play the piano and he would play the flute along with her. This was the most beautiful composition they played together." She replies, smiling slightly.

So that explains it. Flute. No wonder it didn't sound right when I played it. I continue with the composition, my mother stopping me occasionally when I'm making mistakes. How I've wished for this day since I was little, the day my mother would sit beside me and we would do something together.

We are rudely interrupted by a very urgent knocking on the back door. It can't be Gale, I think. He knocks very lightly and can be easily missed if one is not looking out for it. The knocking becomes incessant and Rose hurries out of the pantry to open the door.

I try to peer around her, and can see a white Peacekeeper's uniform.

 _What_ on earth is a Peacekeeper doing on our back doorstep, on a _Sunday_ no less?

I hurry over, and hear two words which are enough to plunge me into the icy darkness of pure dread.

 _Hawthorne arrested._

 _..._

* * *

I'm being dragged through the snow by Caius and Marcus. They were friends. We celebrated New Year with them, we have shared quite a many bottles of liquor together. I have traded with them. Yet I'm being dragged through the streets and they can't do anything about it.

I don't resist them. Caius has been muttering non-stop for me to keep my calm. Thread would gun me down immediately if I showed any sign of resistance. I try to think up a few reasons as to why I was carrying a dead turkey, and all of them fall short of being brilliant.

"Thread won't be easy." Says Marcus. "Where did he take Cray?"

"Where else? I saw this coming." Retorts Caius.

"Now what?" I ask them, irritated.

"You're smart, Hawthorne. Keep your head cool and your tongue in check." Marcus replies.

"We don't know how far this one can go. Looks scary enough." Caius adds unhelpfully.

I can't believe I was foolhardy enough to walk straight into the Head Peacekeeper's house without stopping to talk to the Peacekeepers on the way. Now I'm going to pay the price. Maybe I have a bullet somewhere with my name on it.

I'm being taken to the stocks where I am to wait my fate. The stocks are on the other side of the Peacekeepers' building, and I see about a hundred of them milling about, looking equally nervous as Marcus and Caius. I am a serious offender in about quite a long time who's going to be dished out punishment.

Marcus suddenly begins to pull me roughly and drag me a bit harder than he was already doing.

"Sorry, mate. Can't give ourselves away, or we all might pack in a bullet too. Way too many tattle-tales." grunts Caius.

I am pushed into one of the cells, a tiny dingy hole nowhere enough to accommodate my height, and I have to either sit on the dirty, soiled floor, or I have to stand bending over half-way. My mouth curls in disgust on its own volition at the two pathetic choices I have. Besides, if I get out alive, my mother will kill me if I soil my clothes with all that filth on the floor. I remain standing at an uncomfortable position.

"Get comfortable, mate. Don't know what's coming." Marcus mutters before locking me up. He is promptly replaced by another guard who stands outside my door. I turn around to look at my new accommodation. Faded, dirty walls; I can't tell what colour they were once, they are so covered in dirt, grime, and I don't know what else, and the stench is overwhelming. Heavy iron chains hang down from the walls, and there are chains on the floor too. Heaven knows how much torture went on inside this very cell. The thought makes me nauseous.

I'm sure my family will know about this by now, the whole town saw me being dragged by. Madge will know it too, surely. If not, she'll think I've ditched her again. She might throw up a fit again, not that I mind her throwing a fit, it's hilarious.

 _Oh hell!_ I don't know whether I'm going to live past this day, and I'm thinking about silly daily stuff. What will Rory do once I'm gone? How will he manage to keep the family fed? Ma can't find work because she'll be disgraced as a traitor's mother. I can't have them going to Katniss for help.

I hear a scuffle outside, and peer out to see who is causing it- Darius.

"Of course I have Head Peacekeeper's permission," he says in a crisp official voice, his tone more clipped than I have ever heard him before. "Now, please let me do my job."

The guard walks a few paces away but keeps looking warily at us.

"Hawthorne, you have been found guilty of treason- poaching off the lands of the Capitol, and then attempting to sell it to an Official of the Capitol." Darius says in his clipped, business-tone.

He frowns at me, looks at the guard from the corner of his eyes, then leans a little towards the bars and speaks furiously fast in a low voice. I have to almost stick my head out through the bars to catch his words.

"I told your girl, she thinks you should plead guilty. I agree with her. Either that, or Thread will force you, and it won't be easy." He looks uneasily at me, and then resumes his official tone.

"Do you have to say anything in your defence?" he asks.

"I'll speak to the Head Peacekeeper only." I speak loudly.

"As you wish. Though I don't see how that might help your case." he replies smoothly, and promptly walks off, the heels of his boots stomping against the stone floor.

 _Plead guilty._ Why should I? I will break, but never bend. Madge thinks I should plead guilty. It really rubs me the wrong way. Why should I plead guilty? That would not save me anyway, probably earn me a faster bullet right between the eyes.

But then I don't really have a world of excuses for carrying a dead turkey. Maybe Madge is right. _Keep calm_ , she'd say, but how am I to keep calm if I am to die and leave a family starving behind?

I spent what seems like hours in this dingy, tiny little cell, awaiting my fate, and my back and neck aches from bowing down for so long. I laugh wryly at the thought that I'm thinking about my aching neck, when maybe I'm hours away from having my neck severed from my shoulders, or my neck broken by a rope while I hang from it. What irony!

I'm wrenched out of my thoughts when I hear boots stomping against the stones, approaching my cell probably.

"Bring him to the Square!" I hear Thread's voice boom across the narrow corridors.

Immediately, the guards outside my cell jump to attention and unlock my door. One of them has a pair of handcuffs in his hands. He slips the cuffs on my wrists and binds them behind my back, and roughly grabs me and pushes me outside the cell, where a group of peacekeepers are waiting to take me to the square.

I am dragged outside the building and taken into the Square, or what used to be the Town Square. It is unrecognizable. What used to be an empty place now houses a row of contraptions meant for just one purpose: _torture_. The star attraction of all the new additions is a tall, wooden post secured to the ground, with chains hanging down from the posts. There is a platform also, no doubt for the purpose of hangings. I try not to think which one I am headed to.

A group of Peacekeepers march towards us, Thread at the front, I know from his gait.

"You are Gale Hawthorne, resident of Fifty-fourth Row?" he barks at me.

I don't like the look on his face. I don't like it at all. The Square is starting to fill up with people, no doubt curious to see so many newly added furniture meant for purposes which has nothing to do with relaxing.

"Yes." I simply reply.

"You brought a dead turkey to my door." He continues in his booming voice, meant to intimidate me.

"Yes."

"Did you go beyond the fence to hunt it down?"

He will frame me, whatever I say. I try to hedge as much as I can.

"No."

"Attitude, boy. If you have the remotest wish to see the sun rise again, you need to speak up." Thread sneers at me.

"No. I did not go beyond the fence."

"Then how come you found a turkey in this snow?" Thread asks, raising his brow.

I need to think fast. For Rory. For Vick, Posy and Ma. For Madge.

"It crossed the fence somehow. I stabbed it with a stick I found lying in the meadow."

"And what were you doing there?"

"I go there often to take a walk."

"Do you not know that poaching is forbidden on the Capitol lands?" his asks, his lips curled in a cruel smile.

"I did not kill it with the intention to poach. I brought it to your house. Had I poached it, I would have run the other way instead of going to your house and landing myself here." I almost snap at him.

Thread laughs out at my cheek. The other peace-keepers look on nervously, not knowing where this might lead.

"Some nerve you got there boy."

"I came to hand it over to the Head Peacekeeper because I am aware that poaching is forbidden." I continue.

"Nonetheless, you killed it. That is equal to hunting and poaching, boy." Thread says, wearing a humourless smile on his face.

"Bringing the bird alive would have been difficult." I say.

"You could have let it be. Admit you killed the bird because you hoped to make a profit out of it." He says in a soft, cajoling voice now, like a father might ask a son to admit to his mischief.

"That's not true." I shout at once.

"You take me for a fool? You think I don't know what goes on in the black market you people call the Hob?" he bellows at me.

The onlookers look at him fearfully. I can understand their fear. The Hob has been the lifeline for most of us. If it shuts down, there will be nothing to feed the hungry mouths at home.

"If you admit your treason, boy, I promise I will not be harsh with you." He again takes on that cajoling voice. "However, if you want to stick with your story, which I know has not an ounce of truth; I cannot promise you a safe return back to your warm hearth."

I chance a quick glance around, looking at the Peacekeepers. The familiar ones are nodding slightly at me, urging me to confess. I don't want to. I have a feeling that this man is not someone who lets his prey go unharmed. There must be something more to it. But I have to do everything I can if I have to stay alive for my family.

"I did not kill it with the intention to commit treason. I certainly had no intention to make a profit out of killing a turkey." I try to control my voice as much as I can. If I let my fear show, I'm sure Thread will pounce on me at once. I'm a hunter; I know how a predator thinks.

"You killed an animal on the Capitol lands. Admit to this crime." Thread says softly.

I take a deep breath. "I killed the turkey." I say finally.

Thread's lips stretch into a wide smile, but his eyes are cold.

"Good. Now we are making some progress. Do you know what happens to criminals in Panem, boy?"

He paces in front of me, rubbing his gloved hands together; his eyes alight with sadistic excitement.

"Criminals are not tolerated in Panem, boy. You will be sentenced accordingly." He barks.

I knew it. He won't let me off unhurt.

"You have killed a bird, and you have no remorse. You have killer tendencies. Maybe someday you will murder a fellow human, hmmm?"

I don't answer. He will keep goading me to speak, and if I do, I will be in much more trouble than I already am.

"Let's see if a few lashes knock out that inclination towards killing, eh? He asks gleefully, as the crowd gathered take a collective gasp. District Twelve has not seen whippings in years. Now Thread has brought it back again.

"Peacekeepers, take this man to the Post; I will personally hand out his punishment." He barks at the other peacekeepers.

I try really hard to keep my face blank. A few whippings; it could have been far worse.

But I am wrong.

"For future reference, Sir. How many lashes for the first offense?" one peacekeeper walks up to him and boldly asks.

Thread slowly turns to him, and answers in a chilling voice "As long as it takes to break him and bring him down on his knees. Now, hurry up!"

...

 **God! This whipping scene is proving trickier than it should be. Every approach I take has already been taken. LOL.**

 **I totally forgot. The tune Madge is playing earlier in the chapter is called Nightingale by Yanni. If you haven't heard this earlier, do try it out; you won't be disappointed.**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: So sooo sorry for an extremely short chapter, if at all this can be called a chapter. I've had this lying in my bin for a while, and just wanted to put it up. And a heartfelt thank you to all who are still reading this. :)**

 **-S**

 **Chapter-16**

 _Like red ink spilled on white paper..._

I keep walking as if in a dream.

 _Blood on snow..._

His gasps of pain still echoes in my ear...they reverberate to the core of my being.

 _The harsh sound of the whip coming down against flesh..._

Blood seeping out from where the whip strikes him...

 _Torn shreds of his shirt remain scattered on the snow at his feet..._

I keep moving past, not noticing the hundreds of faces, those hundreds of people standing like statues, silently witnessing the horror playing out in front of them.

 _Just like I did a thousand times in my dream..._

The blood flows freely down his back...

 _I can do nothing but stand helplessly, watching him break..._

Darius lies in a heap at the foot of the whipping post, unconscious. I don't know what horror awaits him.

I can't feel my limbs as I walk, I can't see where I am going. All I can hear is Gale's voice, the tortured gasps that are wrenched out of him. All I can see is the image burned into my eyes. Gale on his knees, his body limp, hanging on to consciousness by sheer force of will. That I stood here rooted to my spot and watched him being tortured in front of the entire district proves that Gale is not invincible, not unbreakable as I thought; and that I can do nothing at all. My father can do nothing at all.

Till my last breath, I will never forget the look on Gale's face as he spotted me in the crowd, as Thread dealt him another blow. Like he was holding up fine until he saw me, and his body gave up the fight.

 _Because of me._

That was the first blow which had caused him to cry out in pain. _Because he saw me_. I don't know if he will ever want to see me again. Part of me wants to believe that Gale will; but the way his eyes accused me are proof enough that Gale will never look at me the same way again.

 _Never._


	17. Chapter 17

**A.N:** **This is not really the chapter I had planned on putting up here, but since I'm so unfortunately klutzy, I guess I lost the original somewhere. Totally lost my sleep trying to get over the loss. I had cried buckets for Gale. Anyways, enjoy.**

 **-S**

 **Chapter-17**

 _One_.

I'm taking this for my stupidity. Because I was too agitated for my own good.

"Count it out loud!" Thread growls in my face. I stare back at him defiantly. I won't give him the satisfaction to see me give in. No. Not that easily.

"One." I say.

 _Crack._ Fire appears where the whip lands.

I grit my teeth harder. I deserve this one. I stood Madge up.

"Two." I grunt.

"You need to speak up louder, boy." Thread chuckles as he circles me.

My hands begin to ache from being shackled above my head, but right now that should be the least of my concerns. I might not live past the next couple of hours.

"Three!" I shout as the whip bites into my back harder this time. The fire burns more steadily as each blow fades into the other.

I deserve each blow for not being cautious. But Thread will never make me break. I will die if I have to.

With each lash of his whip, I think of what I will do if I live. I will definitely not allow this go to waste. Thread will pay with his life, and so will Snow.

"Eleven!" I almost scream. Now I can feel the blood seeping out and my shirt sticking to the trenches dug into my back by Thread's whip.

My legs give away and I collapse on the snow, the manacles around my wrists become tighter.

"Watch!" he screams to the crowd gathered. "This is what you will get if you...any of you ever steal off the Capitol lands!"

 _Crack_.

"Fourteen..." I nearly gasp. My vision starts to swim and I'm dimly aware that there are people in the crowd who know me.

I hope my mother or Rory is not one of the faces in the crowd. I'm glad Madge is not here. I can't take that. The thought of them witnessing my disgrace hits me harder than the whip.

"Seventeen..."

My shirt is torn to shreds and it hurts when the whip is wrenched away again. The blood dries and sticks to the whip, making it sting more.

My family will be disgraced as a traitor's family. How will my mother find work?

"Eighteen..." I breathe out. I can barely speak.

How will Rory manage alone?

I see her face in the crowd. I was hoping; no praying that she wouldn't find out, but I guess even the worst odds are against me today.

"Nineteen!" I scream out this one. I gasp, breathing heavily.

Madge is here, she has witnessed my disgrace, and she has seen me at my weakest. I focus on her instead.

A low moan finally escapes my lips as Thread deals me another blow.

My body is on the verge of giving up, but I will myself to hang on.

I don't remember how many blows Thread rains down on me; I don't care that blood now flows freely from my back and I'm lying in a heap in my own sweat and blood which has coloured the snow red.

The look on Madge's face will haunt me in these last moments of my life. I faintly recognize Darius's raised voice, but I don't really care. I don't feel the hurt, I've grown numb. I'm beyond tired; tired of fighting my emotions, tired of fighting the system, tired of fighting with my best friend, my brother, and even the girl who gave me the strength to fight.

My vision swims back and forth and white spots dance in front of my eyes, distorting my view of Madge.

She shouldn't have seen me like this. This is not the last memory I would have let her have of me. No like this.

I think of the river, the woods and the rain and Madge with me. The memory welcomes me with open arms, and lulls my tired, broken body to rest.

"Madge..." I tiredly try to speak out, but only a low moan comes out. I sound funny.

Weakly I try to speak, but now the blackness is too heavy and too inviting.

I hope Madge will remember me like I will remember her...

I hope she will love like I will love her...

 _Forever..._

 _Till my last breath._

 _Sorry Madge, my forever had to be so short..._


	18. Chapter 18

**A.N: I'm here again after a long time, I guess I'm taking such long intervals now that I'm officially cut off from civilization. Day job can be such a pain. I wish I was paid to simply lounge around on my favourite armchair...I'll keep my woes to myself, and try to update the next chapter as soon as I can. Enjoy..:)**

 **Chapter-18**

 _Live._

 _For me..._

 _Fight for me. Please. Come back to me._

Because I'm fighting for my life too. I'm fighting as hard as he is. The weather outside mirrors the turmoil inside me.

 _Whee...whee...wheeeee_

It sounds just like Thread's whip lashing through the air, I laugh darkly at what twisted joke nature decides to play now.

"Dear, get off the floor. On my dead mother! You're freezing!" I can hear Rosie faintly through the constant ringing in my ears.

"You won't help the boy by crying a river."

Can I help him at all? My attempt to save Gale proved futile, it made things worse. And now I'm not only going to lose Gale, but Darius won't be spared either. All because of me. Because I begged him to stop Thread. I wanted to save one life; now because of me my love, and my best friend, both are facing death.

 _All because of me._

Thread should have just killed me instead.

"Madge, darling, make yourself useful." Rosie gently puts her hand around me and tries to lift me off the ground, but I don't even try to cooperate.

"Your mother needs you, girl. Go to her at once."

I ignore her. I just want to be ignored too. For a change, I want to be alone.

But Rosie is persistent.

"Go now, Madge. She actually told me to drag you by the ear if you didn't go by choice." She nearly growls at me, but I'm too wound up to make a witty comeback as usual. "Said she got to tell you something important."

Rosie half drags me up from the floor and I try to put up a fight but fail abysmally.

I'm quite surprised to see my mother out of bed, even in my dazed state. I've never seen my mother so up and about in the last ten years. She is rummaging around in her wardrobe, a look of intense concentration on her face. She nearly drops an odd-looking box as she hears us.

"Magpie, darling, come here." She beckons me to her as she spots me hovering near the doorway. "Rosie, dear, can you please shut the door on your way out?"

Rosie takes the cue and leaves at once. The moment the door shuts, my mother hurries towards me with an energy I can't quite place. I have never seen my mother looking so determined in all my life. I stare at the box with suspicion.

"Now listen to me, Madge." My mother sounds anxious for some reason, she sounds like I do when I'm up to something.

"I need you to do something. Do you think you can do that?" she asks.

I'm confused. I am too emotionally overwhelmed to even fully comprehend what my mother is asking me, or why. I don't even ask what, like I usually would do before saying yes. Yet, I nod.

"I need you to take this to the Everdeens." She says it so clearly, determination etched on her face like I have never seen before.

"What is it, mother?" I ask, not able to help myself any longer. The curiosity got the better of me.

"It's the least that I can do, Magpie. For you. For Maysilee."

Wait. _What?_

"I...don't understand, Mother."

"I wish I had your courage, dear. Or Maysilee's strength. This is all I can do. It may not be much, but it might save the boy's life."

I simply stare at my mother. _Save his life?_ He must be already hammering on death's door already. Isn't that why I'd decided to freeze to death on the floor, if only Rosie hadn't pulled me up here?

"These are my medicines. Take them to Mrs. Everdeen at once. She'll know what to do." My mother insists, pushing the oddly-shaped box in my hands.

"But, Mother! You can't do that!" I argue. I don't know why I'm arguing. Even I want Gale to live, if he's even hanging on that is.

"If Father knows..."

"He will not know. Now go!" she almost pushes me out.

I rush out of the room at once, and dash down the stairs as fast as I can.

"And where do you think you are going in this storm young lady?" Rosie yells from the pantry as she sees me stuffing my hands through my fur coat, nearly falling out the back door as I make to rush out.

"Wish me luck, please Rosie!" I shout back and sprint along in the storm.

The snow-storm does not make things easy, and I can't run on the snow. I think I'll freeze by the time I reach Victor's Village, but I don't care. If I can save Gale, I'll die trying.

I walk as I fast as I can, and I keep to the shadows as much as possible. The Town Square was teeming with Peace Keepers after today's episode, but now it is totally empty. The streets are deserted and the lights have blown out because of the storm. I'm sure there will be a power cut tonight for sure.

The brutal wind really slows me down and it feels like ages before I finally see the ghost shapes of the bungalows of the Victor's Village looming in the dark.

The houses are all dark, except one. I can see the light flickering, through Katniss's living room window. By this time, I'm soaking through, and my legs feel like dead weight. My wet fur coat is weighing me down, but I plough through. I focus on the flickering light and Gale, who is fighting for his life tooth-and- nail at this moment, and will by tired body to move on.

I hurry to the doorstep, shivering badly. My teeth chatter and my breath comes out in cold puffs. I don't just ring the doorbell, I keep my thumb pressed down hard on it, until I hear a pair of light footfalls hurrying towards the door.

I'm just on the verge of collecting myself when the door is yanked open, and I see not Katniss, but Haymitch peeking out. I can see that he came out from the direction of the kitchen, and Katniss hurries out as well, closely followed by Peeta.

I put on my best stoic face that I can manage. All of them look at me like I am the least expected person to land up on their doorstep tonight, which I am. The calculative look on Haymitch's face gets me unsettled. He must not know about Gale and me.

Before anybody can say anything, I thrust out the package at Katniss.

"Use them for your friend." I somehow manage to choke out, without bursting into tears.

 _Use them to save my life._

Katiss looks up ,her face unreadable.

"These are my mother's," I explain. "She said I could take them. Use them, please."

 _Please just stop wasting time and go!_

I can't take this anymore. If I am here another moment, I might lose control completely. Gale is lying unconscious mere feet away from me, yet I cannot go see him.

I turn on my heels and take off as fast as I can, but I hear Haymitch say behind me "crazy girl."

I don't know how much he has guessed already, but I don't really care. If he has read my feelings for Gale on my face within a span of two minutes, I can only hope he keeps it to himself.

The extreme exhaustion finally gets to me and now I really can't walk anymore. I know I might freeze to death if I don't get myself out of this storm, but really, who cares. I tried my best anyway. If the odds aren't in Gale's favour, I don't want the evens either. I might freeze; that's a painless way to go when compared to Gale.

 **No, no songs this time..:P**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer:** **Only this plot belongs to me. All the dialogues are mine. Gale and Madge, however hard I might wish they were mine, still belongs to Susan Collins.  
**

 **A.N.:** **Hello my lovlies..:) Here's another chapter as a way to wish you all a very Happy New Year. Thank you to everyone who have left me reviews; trust me when I say it's a treat to wake up in the morning trying to get through the pesky mails, and a review notification pops up sandwiched between the other trash..:D Thank you.**

 **Chapter- 58**

Rose tells me I am not supposed to wander around in the house, I am supposed to be in my bed, bundled up in my blanket safely.

She doesn't know that I have been to hell, and haven't quite come back. Not yet. Seventy-nine hours, and still no news. Seventy- nine hours I have not slept. I will not sleep until I know.

My tired, battered body survived the blizzard, and only heaven knows how I made it home the other night. If anyone asks me, I can't tell because I don't remember.

Try hard as I might, I can't remember who I met on my way back, or what I did after I dropped off the medicines. It's like my mind can't take anymore, it's running on an auto-pilot; just like now.

My fingers are hammering away on the piano keys quite on their own, and I don't know what melody I might be playing. I can only tell, the melody mirrors me in every way now, the chords resonate deep inside me; the empty shell of me, and fills me up with an acute sense of loss. I don't shed tears, my eyes are too red and dry to lose any more moisture, and swollen from lack of rest.

I haven't glanced at the clock, but I can tell exactly how many hours I have spent waiting. Waiting and holding on to sanity by a mere sliver of hope. But Rose doesn't know that. She's been hovering over me every couple of hours with her pepper concoction, forcing me to drink it all up. Any other day I would immediately tear up.

"Madge, this is it. You need your rest, young lady. I won't be here again till tomorrow to tuck you into bed." she says. "Your fever won't go away like that."

What she doesn't know is that I am afraid to sleep. I'm afraid I may not want to wake up. What she doesn't know is that I have taken on a super ability. I can keep track of time without looking at the watch. I can register any smallest sound and tell which part of the house it is coming from, I can tell who can be making that noise. I can tell what is going on in the house at any given point of time in these past seventy-nine hours. I know I am officially at the first stage of insanity; I can't recall which book I had gathered this knowledge from.

In a way I've been lost in my music, my fingers have been churning up melodies on their own. I quite miss the quiet knock on the back door.

I glance out the window, it's only late morning. I'm not sure who might want to come in now, under the current circumstances. We have had no visitors other than Rose and Mr. Aarons. Father hasn't been home much. I know he's home only from his hurried, boot-clad footsteps. I know he stays only for a while before he hurries out again.

I hear the soft knock again, and I know it's not Rose, she's already in and tending to my mother upstairs. I get up, and make my way to the door like a robot.

The face that stares up at me from the doorway make my heart still for a few moments. I can't quite make out what to infer.

It's Hazelle.

* * *

I know I need to wake up. I can't move my arms or legs. It's not like I haven't tried. They won't obey me. I don't know how many hours I have been lying here, or days; it's pretty uncomfortable. I feel cramped and I feel numb.

I can hear people coming in and going out. I realise I'm in Katniss's house. I've never been here before, and it feels as alien to me as its owner.

I want to go home. If I'm dying, I want to die in the comfort of my tiny, old house. I want to be with my family instead of being here. I want to be with Madge.

My head starts spinning again, and I am pulled into the blackness once again before I can say anything.

* * *

Hazelle looks up from the doorway. I can't tell from her sombre expression whether I will like the news or not.

"May I come in?" she asks quietly.

I hold the door open for her, and once she steps in, I close the door at once. I don't want anyone to notice she's here.

Hazelle has been in the house before, but she's never seen it like this – not decked up and garish like it is during any Capitol visits or banquets. She looks around the pantry and the adjoining hall. I try to gauge her expression, but find nothing. She finally looks at me, her eyes glistening with tears.

It's like a mighty slab of ice has settled at the pit of my stomach. _No!_

 _Please, God._

"I can't thank you enough, Madge" she chokes.

 _Please, please, please._

"My family can't ever repay you for this. You have saved my son's life.

The last four words she utters registers in my brain.

 _Saved. Gale is alive._

It's like I have been holding my breath till now. I take deep breaths and try to stop myself from tearing up; it's like the dams are threatening to burst.

Before I realise, I'm heaving in sobs and am blinded by the tears.

Hazelle hurries to me and puts her arms around me.

"He's in the best possible hands, Madge. Clara is taking care of him at the moment."

I can't stop myself and I start bawling like a child. Rose will definitely hear us.

"It will get better now. There, there.." she says soothingly, until I calm down.

"Is he awake?" I manage to croak out?

"Katniss will inform me once he's awake." She says.

"You came as an answer to all our prayers, Madge." She adds as an after-thought, looking right at me.

"I can't simply thank you enough. You endangered yourself to deliver the medicines for my son. I don't know how to thank you."

I cry a good deal before I manage to say something. Hazelle sits patiently and says nothing as she waits for my tears to subside.

"Please, Hazelle." I sniffle, "I think we are quite familiar to be past thanking each other. Besides, I think of you as my family as well."

Hazelle stiffens a little, I'm sure she's trying to bring up the obvious; but she lets go at the last moment.

"I need to get going, Posy is not in good shape and I can't leave her alone with the boys for very long."

Hazelle knowing about Gale and me is one thing. But I cannot have Gale know about my involvement in his recovery. His pride can never stand it. _We_ cannot stand it. His pride is still greater than us, and he will never stand being indebted to me, even though I am his and he is mine. The look on Gale's face as he was being tortured has haunted me all this time. The way he had looked at me when I had witnessed him in his hour of weakness; the memory has burned itself permanently in my mind. I'm not quite sure if Gale will ever look me in the eye again, or if we'll have the same level of comfort that I had worked so hard to achieve. That comfort came only when I had imposed on him that we are equals, he and I. I am not above him, and he is not trash like he likes to believe the town people thinks he is. If he knows he owes me his life, he will bend over backwards to repay me, and I'll lose him forever. I'll lose _us_ forever.

As Hazelle leaves, I can feel nearly eighty hours of tiredness hitting me like a tidal wave, and I can't bring myself to stand upright. My vision starts playing havoc; black and white spots dance in front of me and I see the floor coming to greet me. After that I don't know.

* * *

 **NOTE: Yeah I got a song for you this time. It's called "The Tower" by one of my fav composers, Ludovico Einaudi. Hands-down, maestro is my muse.**

 **Clara : Who's she? The actor who portrayed Mrs. Everdeen always thought her character was called that. It's sad Katniss's mother has no name, and Hazelle being so close to her and referring to her as Mrs. Everdeen is just plain absurd. I borrowed the name.**

 **Something which I found while I was reading CF for heaven knows how many-th time, I found this.**

 _"For the first time, I reverse our positions in my head. I imagine Gale volunteering to save Rory in the Reaping, having him torn from my life, becoming some strange girl's lover to stay alive, and then coming home with her. Living next to her. Promising to marry her._

 _ **The hatred I feel for him, for the phantom girl,** for everything, is so real and immediate that it chokes me. **Gale is mine. I am his**. Anything else is unthinkable." ~ Katniss_

 **This just made it so much easy for me to have some fun. So ye be fairly warned. (*evil grin*) Oh, and I almost gave my plot away. LOL.**


End file.
